9 November, the Ukrainian Language Day!

We are celebrating today the Ukrainian Language Day... 

 

"Happy Ukrainan Language & Writing Day"!
© Hromadske.tv

... and this is something very special to me! :)

I've already explained here or there why I decided to learn Ukrainian language and how it changed so many things in my soul. But this is something I still can't really explain...

I'm learning it every day. One day, I only exchange a few words with my friends on social networks; the next day, I can spend 2 hours in translating a poem or an Okean Elzy song into French or into English... But Ukrainian language is now a part of my everyday life! And I have the strange feeling that it has always been there... I'm not learning it: I rediscover it!

Of course, this is an illusion... and this is probably due to the fact that I wanted to speak Ukrainian when I was only 8. I don't know. It's a kind of magic... But a kind of magic which requires efforts: Kyiv was not built in a day! :)
Anyway, when there is love, there is no question and you always want to learn more! 

There is one thing I'm sure of: If I love this language so much, it is because it sounds very beautiful and very poetic. Yes, I'm madly in love with Ukrainian poetry... What do you think of this?

Може, двоє
з іншої планети,
так само, як і ми,
взявшись за руки, дивляться
на нашу Землю
і називають її зорею.
Олексій Довгий

Maybe two people
On another planet,
Just like you and I,
Hand in hand, are watching 

Our Earth
And call it "Star".
Olexïi Dovgyï

Artist Unkn.

Okean Elzy: Янанебібув - Yananebibuv (album)

After a short break, I am happy to find you again for our trip through Okean Elzy songs. Let us go back in 2000!

 
Album: "Янанебібув / Yananebibuv"

Recording date: January 1999   
 
Release date: January 14, 2000

   

Sound producer : Evgen Stupka  

Music: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk except for:

• 1. Янанебібув - Yananebibuv - Svyatoslav Vakarchuk & Yuri Hustochka
• 3. Мало мені - Malo Meni - Svyatoslav Vakarchuk & Pavlo Gudimov 
• 5. Кавачай - Kavachaj - Svyatoslav Vakarchuk & Pavlo Gudimov
• 8. Поясни - Poyasny - Pavlo Gudimov

Lyrics: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk - except for:

• 8. Поясни - Poyasny - Pavlo Gudimov 

Okean Elzy around year 2000 - Photogr. Unkn.

Musicians:

  

Okean Elzy
• Svyatoslav Vakarchuk - vocals
• Pavlo Gudimov - guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
• Yuri Hustochka - bass
• Denis Glinin - drums

 
Other musicians:
• Evgen Stupka - keyboards, tambourine
• Igor Melnychuk - acoustic bass on "Відпусти - Vidpusty"
• "Napoleon" string quartet on "Мало мені - Malo Meni" & "Відпусти - Vidpusty":

• Sergiy Mitrofanov - Violin
• Rostislav Boot - Violin
• Maxim Simchich - Viola
• Jakiv Dushakov - Cello

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, 2001
Photogr. Unkn.

The album"Янанебібув / Yananebibuv" contains 11 songs:

1.    Янанебібув - Yananebibuv
2.    Той день - Toj Den'
3.    Мало мені - Malo Meni
4.    Сосни - Sosny
5.    Кавачай - Kavachaj
6.    Відпусти - Vidpusty
7.    Африка - Africa
8.    Поясни - Poyasny
9.    Фіалки - Fialky
10.  Коли тебе нема -  Koly Tebe Nema
11.  Етюд - Etyud

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, 2001
Photogr. Unkn.

Here are few stories and comments I'd like to share with you about some of these songs:

1.    Янанебібув - Yananebibuv: It is said that, when she listened for the first time to this song,  Svyatoslav's mother told him something like "Ah! Finally! Now, you wrote a song!"... meaning that, until then, he was composing some strange noise mixtures! :)
Now, every time that his mother attends to the show, Slava dedicates this beautiful song to her. I love this joke between them! :))

Янанебібув - Yananebibuv
Minsk, Dec. 2013

2.    Той день - Toj Den' has been performed in a duet with the Russian singer Zemfira in 2000 at Maxіdrom festival.


Vakarchuk & Zemfira, around year 2000
Photogr. Unkn.

Today, the artists are still very close: While the relations between Ukraine & Russia are strained and since Vakarchuk is banned from entering her country, the Russian singer still supports Vakarchuk. Music can unite people and cultures!

Vakarchuk & Zemfira, 2013
Photogr. Unkn.

Той день - Toj Den'

Kyiv, Aug. 2014

3.    Мало мені - Malo Meni is the song that I would have liked to write. :) The melody moves me so deeply & the lyrics are incredible!
This is a love song about the difficulty to express feelings in a foreign language that you're not fluently speaking... The conclusion of all of this mess is "Now I'm alone but, you... you're not!" Ah ! Poor Svyatoslav!... I also know what it is! This reminds me something... ;)

Мало мені - Malo Meni
Sept. 2003

10. And I cannot stop singing "Коли тебе нема - Koly Tebe Nema - When you're not there"!

Коли тебе нема - Koly Tebe Nema
Kyiv, Aug. 2014

Why? Probably because it's written like a song of the rock group "The Police"! Well, that's what Svyatoslav explained about the way he composed Коли тебе нема... :)


For more Okean Elzy music:

• MP3 albums can be downloaded on your local iTunes store or on Amazon.co.uk
• Audio streaming: Deezer
• CDs: Ukrainian Online Music Shop - fast, efficient & friendly service! :)

'Illegal downloading is considered stealing.'

 Legal downloading shows respect for the artists who create the music you love 
in a way that works for those artists!

Sources: Okean Elzy Official Fan-Club 

               Vakarchuk.com

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk: Lecture at Harvard University, 23 October 2015

For those who still haven't listened to Svyatoslav Vakarchuk's lecture about "Ukraine's biggest enemy", here is the "Harvard version"! :)