First of all, I want to answer the question you're asking yourself right now :) and explain in a few words why Svyatoslav is currently in California.
At the press conference he gave before the Kharkiv concert on August 24, Vakarchuk said he needed a long break... and that the next O.E. concert would take place next year in Kiev for the Independence Day of Ukraine - in other words, on August 24, 2018!
One year off... Can you imagine Svyatoslav Vakarchuk wasting a whole year doing nothing? :) Of course not! In September he joined Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) as a visiting scholar for the fall quarter.* And on the 28th of November, he gave concert for the benefit of the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at Stanford University…
A big thank you to my friend Inna who had the pleasure of attending this event and who shared with us the video of this performance! :)
* Svyatoslav Vakarchuk interacts with the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program. Launched in 2016, the Program seeks to provide Ukrainian leaders with opportunities for professional growth and development, as well as the chance to work on a project over the course of a 10-month residency at Stanford.
Dear Friends & Readers, I’m pleased to share with you today a few pictures and videos of the concert that took place in Kharkiv for Ukraine Independence Day… Enjoy!
I’m pleased to inform you that my first book of poems "Dans le coeur du poète - In the heart of the poet" was published today!
First of all, I would like to say that this post is not an advertisement :) - honestly, I think that only a few people like to read poetry and I don’t expect to make money with this book. And it's in French: only some of you could be interested in this... It doesn't make sense to advertise here! :)
No, in fact, there are several reasons why I decided to write about it:
1. Looking at the statistics of this blog, I noticed that, if you like lyrics translations, you also want to know more about me… - I understand that it’s quite unusual that a French fan writes in English about an Ukrainian rock band…. ;) - So, I think you’ll be very interested in this post! :)
Thanks you all!
2. I started working on this book in February 2015. But I had to stop it because the organiser of Okean Elzy’s concerts in Europe asked me to lend a hand to official communication of the band in French. It was an opportunity that I could not say no. :) And since then, the project has remained on the drawing-board…
Last February, I thought that this book should be published anyway: So, I decided that I had to work on it just after the concert to be held in Paris on March 26. That's what I did...
3.Love, hope, Ukraine & music are my main sources of inspiration. All of these themes also inspire Vakarchuk... So, in the end, I should not be surprised that writing a poem led me to his works 6 years ago today - Yes, it was a 10th of August:)
Moreover, the thing is that since I've started working on French translations of Vakarchuk's songs - in 2014 -, I've also improved my own writing style. Translating lyrics is a very good way to learn more about foreign languages, of course, but it's also a great writing exercice in itself!
Another thing is that I'm now writing my own lyrics - in French, of course... And I sometimes do it for Vakarchuk's songs. Sorry again for this, Svyatoslav !
And I also adapted into French of a famous Ukrainian popular song. What a wonderful experience!
To conclude on this point, I can say that, even if they reflect the colours of my soul, my works sometimes also have a little taste of Okean Elzy... :) Well, again, I should not be surprised about it!
4. I also have to say that one of my poems is dedicated to Svyatoslav (yes, I dared!) But not for the reasons you think. Even if... :)
Well, in 2014, I gathered ideas to write a poem about my own experience of poetics: what are the things that move me when I read a poem, why do I write poetry, what readers can understand/know about me when they read my poems... I found the ideas, but didn't know how to build the text! The answer just seemed to pop into my head when I found this this picture on Internet:
Yes, I know what you think "Wow! What a portrait! " :)) Yes, indeed. But the thought crossed my mind immediately was the following question: "What's in your eyes and in your mind, Svyatoslav?" I tend to believe that the most interesting is not what a person looks like but what he or she most deeply is.... And now that I met Svyatoslav, I can confirm that depth is at least as interesting as appearance! Well, I leave that to your imagination... :)
So, anyway, this question gave me an idea: I would talk about the composition of poetry and poems reading by writing a portrait and I would ask the following question several times: "Do you know what is in the poet's heart?" (Of course, I should translate this text into English... An idea for another post? Why not!)
The comments I received from readers - and friends who write poetry - were that my text "Dans le coeur du poète - In the heart of the poet" describes their relationship with poetry in a very good way. So, when I started working on my book in 2015, I have come to the conclusion that its title should be "Dans le coeur du poète" because this text is an excellent synopsis of my works. And I already knew which photo to use on the book cover... :)
What's funny is that, when collecting poems to include in my book, I realized that "Coeur - Heart" is a word that is in nearly 85% of my compositions. So there's logic in all this. :)
By the way, I now know what's "in my heart of poet"... and I understood a few weeks ago that all this makes sense to me! Life is full of surprises!Although... :)
"There are no coincidences, only encounters." Paul Eluard
5. I would like to offer a copy of this book to Svyatoslav next time we meet. I know what he will say: "It's very French! " Yes, it is. :) But I have not lost the hope that, one day, he will learn French :) - The study of poetry or lyrics is a good way to know more about foreign languages!
This book reflects the colors of my soul and Svyatoslav already knows them all (from the darkest to the brightest). Understanding sometimes comes through emotion... So, even though today he knows almost nothing about my mother tongue, he already knows what's in this book! :)
Now I know why the name of my blog is "Okean of emotions" :) There are no coincidences, indeed!
For your information - because some of you will ask :) - please note that this book can be purchased here.
A big thank you again for your interest in this blog. :)
Cheers,
Alexa
The 7th Alfa Jazz Fest took place in Lviv at the end of June. As usual, and because he is a big fan of jazz music, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk was invited to the shows by the organizers of this international festival...
And for those who love jazz improvisation, here is a very interesting video! Thanks to Igor Petrof for this. :) The recording took place on the 24th of June in a restaurant/brewery/«theatre» - I don't know how to call it! :)
By the way, did you know that Svyatoslav Vakarchuk moderated a discussion that took place in parallele to the Alfa Jazz Fest? The theme of this debate was "How to create trustworthy institutes?"
As a co-founder of the Centre for Economic Strategy - who organized this event -, Svyatoslav said that such discussions will be held each year. The purpose of the debate is to answer the challenges faced today by Ukraine. These dicussions should not be limited to politics and will be extended to cultural, social and economic topics.
So, if you're fluent at Ukrainian, if - like me - you're fond of that language or if you're just curious, I invite you to watch this video. :) Enjoy!
As said in a previous post, I had the opportunity to meet Svyatoslav Vakarchuk after the concert he gave in Paris on the 26th of March. There would be a lot to say about it… but in the end, I came to the conclusion that the best way to talk about it was to write him this long letter... :)
Dear Svyatoslav, Many thanks for your time and for your warm welcome when we met in Paris. To tell you the truth, I was not supposed to see you on that Sunday evening, but a few angels made this happened :) - and I want to thank them again for this.
You know, it’s always the same: most of your fans don’t understand why I never asked to meet you (because, again, I didn’t…), especially since I’m lending you a hand in your communication in French. They think I’m stupid not to take advantage of my position… :)) But the thing is that I know that you’re always very busy (I don’t want to take too much of your time) and that, unlike most people, meeting you was not (and is still not) an end in itself for me. Of course, it was an important moment for me… but I believe that this is « only » another natural/logical step in our « collaboration ». :) Things happen when they have to happen…
Photogr. Unkn.
I also have to say that I was in a strange mood that evening - not only because I was not supposed to be there, but also because I have been through so many emotions during the concert!! Especially when you sang with Mané: it moved me deeply… This mixing of Ukrainian and French languages was magical. Many thanks to both of you for this beautiful gift. I’ll never forget… But all of this moved me so that I thought that nothing could have touched me more… Well, it seems to me I was wrong. :) Life is full of surprises!
Since we met, people are always asking me the same questions and they all want to know what kind of person you are. It’s a difficult question to answer :) but cognitive science showed that it only takes a few seconds to have a good perception of personality traits. So… « Positive energy », « strength », « enthusiasm », « generous spirit », «great kindness »… These are the words that people are using when they try to describe who you are. I’m not going to disagree with that. :) But I would add « sensitivity », « fragility », « emotion »… Fans too often forget that an artist is an ordinary person like the others people - being talented and working hard doesn’t mean that you’re not feeling joy, fear, pain… on the contrary! I think that all of this feeds creativity. Now, I can also say that your music reflects your soul. :) Well, this shouldn't have been a surprise… but it was so strange to experience the same emotion as when I listened for the first time to one of your songs! Do you know that, since then, I’m listing to your music in a different way?… ;)
For a hundred reasons, I say that « Дiвчина » is my favorite song… Now, I can add one more item to that long list! :)
I didn’t ask to meet you… but I really wanted to give you these few gifts I’ve brought with me (Note to my readers: I’ll speak about this in another post!), so I’m happy that they are - finally! - in your hands. :) They are of little interest, but I wanted you to know that your music resonates with me and that I see in it new challenges to face. Sorry for treating Ukrainian language and your music so badly… :)) but your works are an important source of inspiration for me and I often need to create something new with all these ideas/feelings coming from the depths of my soul…
By the way, I must tell you that, if I decided not to speak Ukrainian, it was not only because I’m still not mastering it… No. The real reason is that I knew that there would have been many questions regarding this and we then could have talked all night long.:)) This would have been nice but, again, I didn’t want to take you more time. But I promise that, next time we will meet, I’ll say a few words in Ukrainian… I love your mother tongue so much!
When I say that we could have talked all night long, I’m not joking… Here are food for thought:
* Regarding OE communication in French, we can easily go a step further. I have a few ideas regarding this…
* French fans have also suggestions and ideas and they asked me to share them with you…
* Do you know what brings so many different people together and why, all over the world, they love you so?….
* I have 2 personal projects related to your works… We must talk about that.
* I must explain what drove me to Ukraine / to your music…
* I must tell you how learning Ukrainian language changed my soul…
* I will say why I love to wear a vyshyvanka - but I won’t tell you why some say that I wear it so well: you know much more than me about this… ;) - and will tell you that, when I was 12, I had "unusual" interests... :)
Photogr. Unkn.
* I'll have to tell you that, now, I’m sure that discovering your music and meeting you is not a chance: it’s the path I have to follow… I still don't really understand why, but time will tell! :)
Many thanks again for the trust you placed in me. Thank you so much for your invitation to come and see you in concert in Ukraine. I love this idea! This will be great ! Thanks again for this. I appreciate that gesture.
I hope to see you soon.
Take care.
God bless you!
Alexa
'Кохання - це таємниця. Ти слухаєш музику, і у тебе мурашки по тілу. Чому? Це відчуття. Те ж саме і відносини між чоловіком та жінкою. Ти відчуваєш її або ж ні.' Святослав Вакарчук
*****
'Love is a mystery. You're listening to music and itgives you gooseflesh. Why? It's a feeling. It's the same thing in a relationship between a man and a woman.
You feel it or not.'
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk
To feel it or not, that is the question... even if there is no question! :) This not a choice: It's an obvious fact, something precious. It's wonderful to
be able to capture the essence of this emotion and share it with others. Writing poetry/lyrics or singing is for me the most natural way to do it...
An English translation of this heartwarming and moving song can be found here. These words resonate in my soul and this probably explains why I love to sing it... :)
I'm always surprised, proud and moved when Ukrainians say that they love my version of this song. Yes, I now know it: my heart speaks (and sings!) Ukrainian! :)
Yes, there would be indeed a lot to say, but what will remain in my
memory is, of course, the incredible energy of Okean Elzy's band member s
on stage. Svyatoslav Vakarchuk was going wild... and the crowd was too!
:)
The concert was sold out... and I noticed that there was more French people in the audience than as usual. This is a very positive thing because I believe that Vakarchuk's music can easily cross borders and make this world smaller... :)
A warm and festive atmosphere, a lot of energy and emotion... Yes, this was an amazing show!
Okean Elzy - Paris, 26th March 2017 Photogr. Unkn.
Okean Elzy - Paris, 26th March 2017 Photogr. Unkn.
This concert made me feel good for a lot of reasons... Mainly because it gave sense to a lot of things I'm doing now for years regarding Okean Elzy. It showed me that I am on the right path, that what I am doing matters... It is priceless and an opportunity which is not given to many people. Life is not all roses, but it's as a gift of great fortune (or God!) to experience all of this!
Okean Elzy - Paris, 26th March 2017 Photogr. Unkn.
Okean Elzy - Paris, 26th March 2017 Photogr. Unkn.
Yes, the most moving, joyful and intense moment was when Svyatoslav sang with one of his biggest fan in France, Mané, a little girl which is very sick and who finds comfort in listening to Okean Elzy music... I've already said a few words about her in another post - you probably remember that Mané's mother, Marina, met Svaytoslav in Yerevan last year...
Mané's biggest dream was to sing with Svyatoslav... I have to say that I played a key role in making this dream come true. So, when I heard her singing the words that I translated into French of this beautiful song "Обійми", I cried all the tears I had. :) It was so moving!
I already said how much I love lending a hand in the official communication in French for Okean Elzy. But what's makes me really happy, and why I'm proud of doing this, is when such things happen.
Thank you so much, Svyatoslav! I'm so happy to see that are still noble-minded people who speak from their heart... We didn't have time to talk about that when we met in Paris - there are still so many things that I'd like to tell you! :) - but I'm sure the time will come, sooner or later.
Ah! I realize that I have to to answer to the question that
everyone is asking me since so many days: "So, Alexa, did you finally
meet Svyatoslav?"The answer is "Yes!" but I will tell more about it later... :))
I'm late - again! - in posting these pictures and videos of the concert that took place last month in San Francisco, but I'm pleased to share them worldwide today! :)
