Commentary

Wasyl Sydorenko

I would like to share with you the TRUE story behind this Skoryk earworm. It is a piece of music that TRUE Ukrainians should anathematize. Let me explain.

In 1982 a Soviet film, Vysoky Pereval, was released for which the music score was written by Myroslav Skoryk. You can watch it here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=n1Mnimpj6BE

The director claims that the movie is about heroic events in a Carpathian village during and after WWII. Yes, heroic, but he doesn't say which side is heroic – the Soviet or the Ukrainian side. The story is about a Ukrainian woman (Slavka Petryn), separated from her family during WWII, rescued by the Soviets, indoctrinated with Communism and sent back to her village together with other Soviet agents to create a Stalinist paradise there. She is shocked to discover that her family is with the Ukrainian partisans fighting the Communists. The typical backwater violence ensues as the two sides struggle for supremacy. In the end she is killed, but her orphaned son reaches out to a Russian orphan in a gesture of "eternal brotherhood" as a cloud in the form of a dove floats above them and the Melodiya screams its last phrases.

Now about the music. There are just two pieces of music for the entire movie -- the melodious Melodiya and some harshly dissonant sounds of Carpathian folk music. These two opposing styles represent the two opposing forces. The Melodiya is the theme of the Communist Slavka Petryn and the jarring folk sounds represent the uncouth and unenlightened Carpathian villagers, as well as Slavka's own family. So if you want to sit back and enjoy this "heavenly" melody, this so-called "spiritual hymn" of Ukraine (as some refer to it), this movie theme symbolizing a KGB agent hellbent on destroying Ukrainian nationalism, then the choice is yours. I would erase all links to this insidious bit of Soviet propaganda and say a prayer for all the victims of Communism instead.

You can imagine the horror and disgust I experienced when I discovered that the Melodiya was transformed into the song Svicha about the victims of the Holodomor. This act of hybrid betrayal by Skoryk (the composer), Stelmakh (the poet), Oksana Bilozir (the singer), Yushchenko and Poroshenko (the sponsors), and Filaret (who gave his blessing) does not change the fact that this is Slavka's theme from Vysoky Pereval. Can you imagine playing some of the Germanic music from Nazi concentration camps at Holocaust commemorations? NO!!! Similarly, I am totally revolted by the fact that Melodiya has now become synonymous with Holodomor commemorations.

Sure, the director of the movie claims that the depiction of OUN in the movie was a watershed moment in Soviet cinema. Prior to this movie the OUN was never mentioned. (I don't know if I believe this or not.) Big deal, even if it is mentioned, it is portrayed in the most despicable manner. OUN is the enemy of the people and only Slavka, her KGB agents, and her enlightened Melodiya can save Ukrainians from themselves.

But from a musicological perspective, there is nothing spectacular about the Melodiya. It's uniqueness within Ukrainian musical culture is derived from the fact that is does not belong to Ukrainian tradition. It is based entirely on Francis Lai's theme from Love Story and the subsequent reworkings of this theme for the softcore porn film Emmanuelle 2 and the erotic Bilitis. Both the Love Story and Bilitis themes were earworms that figure skaters the world over used for their routines in the 1970s-1990s. The harmonic sequences are foreign to Ukrainian musical tradition. Skoryk was well acquainted with Western-style music and Love Story was a huge hit in the USSR.

To prove this point I have combined the two pieces of music -- the theme from Love Story and the Slavka's theme -- into a single piece of music where the two melodies simply complement each other.

I have been trying to get this message out to the world in so many different ways for the past 10 years, but I feel like Cassandra -- totally ignored, ranting and raving in the wilderness. Maybe those of you who read this entire missive will help spread the word -- Melodiya is anathema! It is hybrid Soviet (today Russian) propaganda. It is an insult to all "svidomi" Ukrainians.

Thank you for your attention. I hope everyone continues to stay well. Please say a prayer for all the victims of Holodomor and Communism, as well as all victims of intolerance of any kind anywhere.