A candlelit evening at Ukrainian Institute London, held on 25 January 2012, focused on Scotland’s best-loved national poet Robert Burns.
AUTHOR
Ukrainian Institute London
An evening devoted to the life and poetry of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet loved worldwide, was held at the Ukrainian Institute London on January 25th. The evening was organised by Molodyi Teatr London under the leadership of Olesya Khromeychuk, PhD, together with Uilleam Blacker, a native Scotsman, who has learnt to speak fluent Ukrainian and recently defended his PhD on representations of space in contemporary Ukrainian literature.
During the candlelit evening, which involved a sampling of haggis and a wee dram of Scotland’s most loved tipple, Uilleam and Olesya focused on the life of Burns and read his poems. Translations of his great works also followed in Ukrainian, Russian, French, Italian and Esperanto, read by members of the audience.
The evening involved singing Burns’ songs in the original and Ukrainian translation. The evening ended with a traditional Auld Lang Syne.
One of Burns’ poems O, Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast has become popular in Ukraine due to the performance by the Ukrainian musical group Pikkardiyska Tertsiya of its translation Nehaj i holod i vitry (Нехай і холод і вітри). The text of Robert Burns’ original and the Ukrainian translation are provided below.
O, Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast (Robert Burns original)
O, wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;
Or did Misfortune’s bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
Thy bield should be my bosom,
To share it a’, to share it a’.
Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a Paradise,
If thou wert there, if thou wert there;
Or were I Monarch o’ the globe,
Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my Crown
Wad be my Queen, wad be my Queen.
Nehaj i holod i vitry… (Нехай і холод і вітри…)
Нехай і холод, і вітри,
І сніг з дощем, і сніг з дощем, –
Я від негоди захищу тебе плащем,
Тебе плащем, тебе плащем.
Нехай і горе, і біда,
І море тьми, і море тьми, –
Я від негоди заслоню тебе грудьми,
Тебе грудьми, тебе грудьми.
Нехай я стану злидарем
В чужім краю, в чужім краю.
З тобою буде скрізь мені, як у раю,
Як у раю, як у раю.
Нехай я стану владарем
На цілий світ, на цілий світ.
В моїй короні будеш ти, як самоцвіт,
Як самоцвіт, як самоцвіт.
