Honcharenko Hnat

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Hnat Tykhonovych Honcharenko (1835-1917)

One of the most renown kobzars of Kharkiv province from the late 19th early 20th century.

[edit] Biography

He was born in the village of Ripky into a serf family. He became blind at the age of 3-4. He began to study the bandura at the age of 22 under the old kobzar Petro Kulibaba. He studied for a period of 4 months, and continued his studies from the other kobzars he later met.

After he married, he settled not far from Kharkiv on the Hubayenko homestead. When he was widowed, he resettled to Sevastopol with his son who worked there on the railroad as an engineer. In Sevastopol he would spend his winters and return for the summer months to Kharkiv.

Honcharenko had in his repertoire four dumy:

   1. Oleksiy Popovych. 
   2. The Poor Widow and Her Three Sons. 
   3. The Sister and Brother. 
   4. About the Escape of the three brothers from Oziv 

He also sang numerous satirical-humorous songs and played instrumental dance melodies.

On the pages of the press, Hnat Honcharenko was first mentioned by M. Sumtsov in 1885. In the January edition of "Kyivan Antiquities" in the article "About a new variant of Olexiy Popovych" he wrote, that Honcharenko visited Kharkiv numerous times and that he knows numerous sacred and humorous songs and also dumy "About the Escape of the three brothers from Oziv" and the "Poor widow".

The first recordings of dumy made from Honcharenko were made by Yu. Tykhovsky in 1899. These recordings were given to the organizers of the XIIth Archeaological conference, but unfortunately were not published. Tykhovsky noted that Honcharenko was quiet and unassuming, that he plays very well and sings distinctly, and that "it would be very nice to record from him his melodies and the musical accompaniment of the dumy".

Hnat Khotkevych regarded Honcharenko's performances very highly. He wrote about him: "He is one of the most educated of all the kobzars. His appearance leaves an impression similar to a magical feeling. He, like his colleagues , wandered from village to village, singing at marketplaces and streets,but what is first observed is his cleanliness and outward appearance. ... It could be assumed that he was like this at home, that he is always like this, and not just for the observers eye.... As a virtuoso, with a limited repertoire. He did not have messy parts in his playing. Everything was performed clearly and artistically."

In 1908 Lesia Ukrainka with her husband Klement Kvitka, recorded on phonograph the singing of Hnat Honcharenko and these wax cylinders were sent to Filaret Kolessa in Lviv for transcription.

Filaret Kolessa stated: "Honcharenko's technique demonstrated true artistry. The tones from his fingers come out clearly and loudly, evenly played scalic passages changing from p to f, sounding clear chords at the end of periods and discreetly becoming quiet during his singing, giving a harmonic foundation for his recitation, or intertwining with the golden tapestry of fine fiorituras of his passages.... This is not simple accompaniment by repetition of 2-3 chords but an independent accompaniment copying the motives of the recitation, improvised in the same manner, like singing, and very lively: it gives the recitation a multicolored movement and lifted his expression of his musical declamation....

.... Despite his limited repertoire, Honcharenko with his archaic method of recitation and bandura playing sets himself apart from the other live kobzars. He sings dumy in a quick recitation, clearly defining the accents, generally in his singing musical declamation takes precedence over the melodic element, the ancient dorian mode, with two melodic centres, with forth and fifth groupings of the melody, the ending of the melody on the second degree of the scale, these are archaic characteristics, that distinguish Honcharenko as a singer of the old school, the inheriter of the best kobzar traditions...

.... Looking at the recordings of his recitations made on phonograph, with his mastery accompaniments, we have the basis to feel that both Ostap Veresai and Hnat Honcharenko were two of the greatest kobzars that we have known.

Honcharenko died sometime near 1917. A more accurate date has not been ascertained.

[edit] Students

Horobetz

Petro Drevchenko

Erast Udiansky

Hryhory Bajdykov

Mykola Demchenko

Petro Hashchenko

Ivan Kucherenko

[edit] Sources

Mishalow, V. and M. - Ukrains'ki kobzari-bandurysty - Sydney, Australia, 1986.

Humeniuk, A. - Ukrainski narodni muzychni instrumentsy - Kyiv 1967, p 79