Polonaise "On the Death of Shevchenko": How an Odesa composer created one of the first musical monuments to Kobzar

It is known that Taras Shevchenko, unfortunately, never visited Odesa. Nevertheless, the traditions of honoring him and the influence of the poet's work on the city's Ukrainian community have attracted the attention of scholars and citizens alike, revealing Shevchenko's Odesa in a new way. "Our city is connected with Shevchenko not only by the books published here," notes Taras Maksymiuk, an Odesa collector of Ukrainian literature. And the polonaise "On the Death of Shevchenko," published in 1861 in Odesa, is a vivid confirmation of this.

As one of the first musical works on Shevchenko's theme, the polonaise is well known among musicologists and researchers of Shevchenko's work. However, information about its author, Ukrainian composer Vasyl Pashchenko (1822-1891), is rather limited.

Perhaps the only reliable source for the composer's biography is a laconic obituary published in 1891 in the Galician magazine Zorya, signed by M.K. From it we learn that "the talented Ukrainian composer Vasyl Pashchenko completed his earthly journey at the age of 70 on January 24, 1891, in the village of Buda, near the town of Taganchi, Kyiv province (now the village of Buda-Horobiivska, Kaniv district, Cherkasy region)."

"Among his works, the plays"Thoughts on Ukraine" and "I'm Going Across the Neman! as well as "Polonaise on the Death of Shevchenko," composed and published in Odesa in 1861, the year of Kobzar's death, which later underwent two more reprints, including in St. Petersburg," the author of the obituary notes. He concludes with an uncertain statement about the existence of other works by Pashchenko and a wish that "someone would be found to present materials about them, along with the composer's characteristics and biographical data."

The second edition of the polonaise. Postcard from the collection of Taras Maksymiuk

Experts in Shevchenko studies might have guessed that the monogram "M.K." hides none other than the first bibliographer of Shevchenko's works and works about him, the famous Odesa lexicographer and folklorist Mykhailo Komarov (1844-1913). However, in a thematic article from theUkrainian Music Encyclopedia, the author is mistakenly named as Ukrainian historian Mykola Kostomarov. This is probably due to the interpretation of the signature "M.K." and is incorrect, since Kostomarov died in 1885, i.e., 6 years before Pashchenko's death.

In the early 2000s, a significant contribution to the study of Pashchenko's biography and the history of the polonaise was made by Hryhorii Zlenko (1934-2015), a bibliographer and local historian from Odesa. He found out that the piece was written immediately after Shevchenko's ashes were transferred to Chernecha Hill near Kaniv in May 1861. It was later published in Odesa by the owner of a music store, Neugeborn, and republished twice - in 1870 in St. Petersburg and in 1889 in Moscow by the music publisher Peter Jurgenson (1836-1904).

The grave of Taras Shevchenko. Photo: Ukraine Incognita

The appearance of the polonaise was not ignored by periodicals of the time. In 1861, the polonaise was mentioned in the Odesa Bulletin by a certain "T", who, according to Zlenko, could be the pianist and music teacher Ignaz Tedesco (1817-1882), who lived and wrote in Odesa for a significant part of his life. The following is in the original language: "The musical news should include the recently released in Odesa musical piece "Polonaise on the death of the poet Taras Shevchenko", for piano, composed by V. Pashchenko. Orders for a significant number of copies of this polonaise have already been received from Kyiv and Poltava, " the author of the note added.

During the Soviet era, Pashchenko's work received a negative assessment from the Ukrainian composer and musicologist Antin Rudnytsky. In his 1963 work "Ukrainian Music, Historical and Critical Review," Pashchenko and his contemporaries' works that addressed Ukrainian folk songs and Shevchenko's themes were classified as "examples of empty, banal musical maculature." Rudnytskyi justified his harsh position by the considerable popularity of such works, which made them accessible to a wide range of "homegrown performers and listeners." Thus, it contributed to "the education of the taste of an entire generation, unfortunately, not in a positive spirit."

Contemporary Ukrainian researchers hold the opposite opinion. Olena Martsenkivska, PhD in Art History, considers Pashchenko to be the founder of Shevchenko's themes in nineteenth-century Ukrainian piano music. And his polonaise "On the Death of Shevchenko" is a continuation of the romantic tradition in music established by the Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

Pashchenko's burial place is not known for certain. Zlenko recalled that he once published an article about the composer in the Cherkaska Pravda newspaper, where he asked whether his grave had been preserved. However, he received no response to the article, and in his research he was inclined to believe that the composer "fell into the ground near Shevchenko's grave."

In September 2020, a memorial complex was opened on the site of the First (Old) Christian Cemetery of Odesa, destroyed by the Soviet authorities. The list of names engraved on the museum-wall includes the names of Vasyl Pashchenko, who is more likely to be buried in the Cherkasy region, and Petro Sokalsky, who, according to numerous obituaries, is buried at the "New Cemetery" (we are most likely talking about the Second Christian Cemetery - author's note).

"I hope that this list is fake. Because, in addition to the fact that the list does not contain the names of prominent Odesa figures buried in the cemetery, there are other "interesting" names and surnames," Odesa historian Taras Honcharuk said about the opening of the museum-wall.

The fate of the original notes of the polonaise remains unknown. The copy published in Odesa by Neugeborn was kept in the Pashchenko family archive for a long time. As reported by the newspaper "Black Sea Commune," in 1939, in the year of the 125th anniversary of Shevchenko's birth, the composer's grandson presented this copy to the Odesa Art Museum. A quarter of a century later, Zlenko inquired about the fate of the exhibit and received a negative answer, because "the Second World War with heavy losses was behind us."

Later, the bibliographer also found a notebook with sheet music by Pashchenko, published by the Musical Ukraine publishing house, in the department of musicology and music literature of the Odesa House of Books. Not knowing how to play the piano, Zlenko left the publication for musicians, which he later regretted.

Playing the polonaise on the piano

Thanks to the efforts of historians and musicologists, the memory of Vasyl Pashchenko and his "Polonaise on the Death of Shevchenko" continues to live on. As for the city's community, there is not a single memorial sign in Odesa about the composer's life and work.

Оксана Сорокіна