Mykhailo Teliha
Encyclopedia
Mykhailo Teliha was an active Ukrainian community leader and distinguished musician. He was born in the Akhtyrka Stanitsa in the Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
. It is here that he first became interested in playing the bandura
Bandura
Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
in 1913. He trained initially as a forester and engineer and later he completed medical studies to become a doctor.
In 1918, he moved to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
to aid in the establishment of the newly independent Ukraine. There he became a member of the Kobzar Choir
Kiev Bandurist Capella
The Kiev Bandurist Capella is a male vocal-instrumental ensemble that accompanies its singing with the playing of the multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument known as the bandura....
under the direction of Vasyl Yemetz
Vasyl Yemetz
Vasyl' Kostovych Yemetz was born in the village of Sharivka, 40 km from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Son of Kost' and Yevdokia . Married to Maria Horta-Doroshenko...
.
He was an active participant in the struggle for Ukrainian liberation where he served as a field surgeon. He was also part of the personal staff of Symon Petlura
Symon Petlura
Symon Vasylyovych Petliura was a publicist, writer, journalist, Ukrainian politician, statesman, and national leader who led Ukraine's struggle for independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917....
.
In 1921, he was interned in a camp in Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
, Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
where he organized and ethnographic ensemble and taught bandura
Bandura
Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
. When it became known that negotiations had been initiated for the repatriation of those that were interned to Soviet Ukraine, he moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
In Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
he lived in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Podebrady
Podebrady
Poděbrady is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 km east of Prague on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow...
from 1923 to 1929. There he completed his studies in Medicine at the Podebrady Academy. Here he met and married the future Ukrainian poetess Olena Teliha
Olena Teliha
Olena Ivanivna Teliha was a Ukrainian poet and Ukrainian activist of Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnicity.-Biography:Olena Teliha was born Elena Ivanovna Shovgeneva in the village of Ilyinskoe, near Moscow in Russia where her parents spent summer vacations. There are a several villages by this name...
and continued his involvement with the bandura being active in the formation of a bandura school and a second Bandurist Capella
Prague Bandurist Capella
The Prague Bandurist Capella was a musical ensemble formed in 1924 by Ukrainians living in Czechoslovakia featuring performers on the bandura....
in Prague.
In 1926, he was the editor of a collection of pieces for the bandura published in Prague under the auspices of the "Kobzar" society. The book contained 12 pieces of his pieces printed on 24 pages. It was the first collection of bandura music ever published.
In 1929, he and his wife moved to Poland, where he lived in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
until 1939. He performed as a professional musician throughout western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
during this time and recorded 6 works on 3 records for a Polish record company - "Syrena Electro". In 1939 he moved to Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
His repertoire on the records included:
1) Zaporozhian march
2) Hej vydno selo
3) Oj lita orel
4) Oj ne khody Hrytsiu
5) Vyklyk
6) Vstaye khmara
7) Oj na hori vohon' horyt'
In 1941, during the German occupation
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Reichskommissariat Ukraine , literally "Reich Commissariat of Ukraine", was the civilian occupation regime of much of German-occupied Ukraine during World War II. Between September 1941 and March 1944, the Reichskommissariat was administered by Reichskommissar Erich Koch as a colony...
of Ukraine he returned with his wife to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
to participate in the rebuilding of Ukrainian culture and a Ukrainian presence in the capital.
Teliha was arrested together with his wife 9 February 1942 by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. He was not involved in the publication of anti-German materials in the newspaper Ukrayinske Slovo and was offered his release. He chose not to leave his wife's side and was shot a few days later on the 21st (23rd) February 1942 in Babyn Yar, Kiev.
Sources
- Entsyklopedia Ukrainoznavstvo- volume 8
- Ukr. Slovo - Mykhailo Teliha - Bandura #51-52,1995
- nn - Mykhilo Teliha - Kubans'kyj Kozak banduryst - Bandura #57-58, 1996