On 24.12.2025 in the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kyiv will be held Ukrainian Christmas Carols Reconstruction 1915 - for the first time in Ukraine a reconstruction of the concert of Ukrainian Carols by the Oleksandr Košyts Choir.

In 1913 Kyiv famous conductor Oleksandr Košyts initiated a series of concerts of Ukrainian Carols - a grandiose cultural and educational project during which – in 1916 Mykola Leontovych’s "Shchedryk" ("Carol of the Bells") was first performed in Kyiv.

The successful Christmas music project of Oleksandr Košyts introduced the Kyiv public to Ukrainian Christmas song folklore.

In a joint project of the Leontovych Institute, the Choral Chapel of the Ukrainian Radio under the direction of Yulia Tkach, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Radio and the Public Broadcasting Company the repertoire of the Christmas Concert of the Choir of Oleksandr Košyts which took place on December 28, 1915 in the Merchants Gathering Hall (now the National Philharmonic of Ukraine) will be recreated.

At the concert 16 Ukrainian carols (3 sections) arranged by composers Kyrylo Stetsenko, Oleksandr Košyts and Vasyl Stupnytskyi were performed on the Kyiv stage.

It was these Ukrainian carols that formed the basis of the repertoire of the Ukrainian Republican Capella which toured Europe and America under the direction of Oleksandr Košyts in 1919 - 1924 captivating the world audience with the traditions of Ukrainian Christmas.

Ukrainian Christmas Carols Reconstruction 1915 Concert Program

Part I
- "Oh God sees", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "News has spread all over the world", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "On the Jordan River", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "And in Kutsivka they are building a church", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "Let's play today while treating carts", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "A new council has come", arrangement by Oleksandr Košyts
- "Oh on the hill", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "Heaven and earth", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "Oh, birth is strange", arrangement by Oleksandr Košyts
- "From under the mountains, from under the valleys", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "A falcon has flown to the window", arrangement by Vasyl Stupnytskyi

Part II
- "Good evening to you", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "There was a widow", arrangement by Oleksandr Košyts
- "Ulyanka bit silk grass", arrangement by Vasyl Stupnytskyi
- "Across the Wider Field", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- "The Three Tsars Went", arrangement by Oleksandr Košyts
- "Oh, Gray-haired One and the Little Red Riding Hood", arrangement by Kyrylo Stetsenko
- Mykola Leontovych - "Shchedryk" ("Carol of the Bells")
- Stepan Charnetsky, lyrics by Heorhiy Trukh - "Oh, Red Kalina in the Meadow", arrangement by Victor Hrytsyshyn, translation for mixed choir by Mykola Hobdych, percussion arrangement by Hrygoriy Chernenko
- Mykola Lysenko, lyrics by Oleksandr Konysky - "Prayer for Ukraine", arrangement by Oleksandr Košyts

The concert-reconstruction is dedicated to a significant event - the 150th anniversary of the birth of Oleksandr Košyts - a top conductor and cultural diplomat who turned Ukrainian folk song into a symbol of national identity.

The initiators of the project: Yulia Tkach and Tina Peresunko
Author of the idea and concept: Tina Peresunko

Limited number of tickets for Ukrainian Christmas Carols Reconstruction 1915 still available here.

Welcome to Kyiv to listen to historic and the most famous Ukrainian Christmas Carols!

Organizers of Ukrainian Christmas Carols Reconstruction 1915

Leontovych Institute, Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio, National Philharmonic of Ukraine
National Philharmonic of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine

Pavel Korsun
Tour Guide
Ukraine tours and Kiev tours

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