Learn Ukrainian & Polissyan Vesnianky - Spring Calling Songs & Haivky !
Kosa Spring Singing Session- 3 Thursdays in March/April
Calling in spring (vesna), is a tradition as old as life itself, and a beloved custom among Slavic peoples, known as “Hukannya Vesny” (hukaty meaning to call in, as in “Hoooo!”).
In this particular custom, women go out into the fields and onto the hilltops, and sing very strident songs with vocalizations of “hooo!” to call in spring from afar. These songs literally speak to the heavens, to God, to the rivers and streams, to the muddy fields, about the desire for warmth and life to return, so that life may be good again, and gladness and laughter once more fill the streets. When spring has arrived, haivky are sung as young people come out onto the green, and sing while walking, meandering, and “dancing the crooked dance”. Many of the songs tell of birds and trees courting and are filled with the flirtatious frisky energy of spring. Many of them include motions and dances that enact the springing to life of the natural world.
In this series* of classes we’ll be learning a variety of vesnianky- spring songs.
Most hail from Polissya (northern Ukraine, Belarus, ne Poland) and Podillya (central-west Ukraine).
*We ask that you commit to all three weeks of learning, so that you can then join us at outdoor singing sessions, calling forth the Spring!*
Location: St. Volodymyr Institute (SVI), 620 Spadina Ave., Toronto
Dates: Thursdays: March 23rd (SVI), March 30th (SVI), and April 6th (location TBD).
Suggested donation: $25-$35 per workshop; $75-100 entire workshop series
Pay at the door cash-in-hand, or send etransfer to folkcanada@finances.ca (please specify "spring songs workshops" in text)
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