Through the performance of Otche Nash, a liturgical work that spans multiple religions and traditions, the choir wishes to remind us of the EUI’s purpose to transcend national borders and promote dialogue among cultures.

About the composer:

Mykola Leontovych, a composer of choral, opera and folk music, was born in 1877 in Podolia, Ukraine (then a part of the Russian Empire). He studied in several seminaries and conservatories, including two years in St. Petersburg, earning credentials at the imperial Court Capella as choirmaster. He returned to Ukraine in 1904, playing a key role in the establishment of the Ukrainian Republic Capella, in addition to concert tours in Europe and Africa. During the revolution of 1905 he organised a choir for children of railroad workers that performed Ukrainian, Armenian, Jewish, Russian and Polish folk songs – a clear sign of his sympathy with the overthrow of the tsarist regime and his belief in multicultural musical exchange. Leontovych was also, however, a fervent supporter of Ukrainian national culture and independence and is celebrated as such. He was murdered in his home in 1921 under unclear circumstances, widely interpreted as a political assassination. In the West, the best-known composition by Leontovych is the Carol of the Bells (1916).