Exploring the role of ukrainian folk elements in modern classical music: current trends and future directions

Abstract

Interest in folk art is one of the most complex issues in today’s globalised world, driven by market mechanisms and economic interests. At the same time, art cannot avoid the existential questions of existence and identity, which are especially relevant in countries that face the threat of external aggression, as happened to Ukraine in the 2020s. This fully applies to musical folklore, which does not lose its attractiveness for modern classical composers. The subject of our study is the use of Ukrainian folklore in composers’ works of the early twenty-first century. The aim of the work is to investigate the nature of the use of folk motifs in works of contemporary symphonic, chamber instrumental and electronic music. The chronological framework of the study is 2000–2024. Conclusion. The article analyses the works of 12 Ukrainian composers written in Contemporary classical music traditions, including melodies of Ukrainian folk songs. It is shown that Ukrainian melodies are used in various contexts – experimental electronic sounds, atonal and aleatoric orchestral sounds, jazz harmony, and the dramatic and semantic centre of a symphonic work. Although the problem of preserving folklore is relevant for many countries in the world in the context of contemporary globalisation, it is Ukrainian folklore that shows the most extraordinary vitality and ability to adapt in the context of contemporary art.