Luke Stamps has a BA in History and an MA in Human Rights, with a focus on Central/Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He is also an activist, working with organisations throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Photo: Matthew Johnson
In the midst of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, composer Natalia Tsupryk and Tom Herring, Artistic Director of the vocal collective SANSARA, have joined forces in solidarity with Ukraine. Together, they have created a brand-new choral piece: A Quiet Night.
Nestled in the backstreets of West London’s Mayfair lies the beautiful Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. The cathedral has long been a pillar of the Ukrainian community in London, it now also hosts the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, which provides essential support to displaced Ukrainians. Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski kindly welcomed Tom and Natalia to record A Quiet Night at the cathedral, released as a single on Friday 19th August. The piece features text from Ukraine’s iconic poet and author, Serhiy Zhadan, combined with quotations from one of Volodymyr Zelensky’s impactful speeches delivered following Putin’s invasion.
“I wanted to bring some beauty into the world at a time of so much loss and destruction” — Tom Herring, Artistic Director of SANSARA
Natalia and Tom bonded over their urge to respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “I wanted to bring some beauty into the world at a time of so much loss and destruction,” recalled Tom and began researching composers. He was immediately struck by Natalia’s instrumental music, which has an immediate emotional depth to it. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Natalia has released a few powerful pieces dedicated to the war, such as Elegy for Spring, II with Angus MacRae, and The Trees Will Swing – І Загойдають Дерева.
Ukrainian choral music stretches back for over a thousand years, and has always held an important part in Ukrainian national identity. At the turn of the 19th century, Ukrainian composers were mainly writing for choirs. Mykola Lysenko – nicknamed the ‘father of Ukrainian music’ – spent a large portion of his career rearranging Ukrainian folk songs, most of which then fed into his original compositions. His works were a large part of the formation of a distinct Ukrainian sound.
“Ukrainians have passed music through generations: from grandparents to grandchildren” — Natalia Tsupryk, Composer
“Choral music, and singing, in general, is a very Ukrainian thing,” says Natalia. “In every family, everyone sings. It’s quite normal at a party or after dinner to just sing.” Singing is an instrument of expression that no state can fully take away. Singing, and choral music comes from the heart and soul of a human being, and it doesn’t necessarily need a page or a frame for it to exist. Whether it’s in the trenches, or at a family celebration, singing can be found in every corner of Ukrainian society, and so, has been a pillar of support for a nation under attack for centuries. “It travels with people,” continues Natalia. “People pass it through the generations: from grandparents to grandchildren. The state couldn’t do anything. Not the Soviet Union, nor the Russian empire.”
There is a long history of Russian and Soviet oppression of Ukrainians, and now, with the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s collective and individual anguish has been reignited. “Everything I do now, both professionally and personally, is about Ukraine,” said Natalia. “Death is everywhere and people never know which of their loved ones might be next. Ukrainians desperately need the world’s assistance to win and end this cruel war.”
Equipped with passion and talent, Tom and Natalia thought carefully about their choice of text for the piece. In his research, Tom came across a short poem from none other than Ukraine’s legendary poet, Serhiy Zhadan. The poem read: “It is us who sing in the quiet of the night when the inner town is silent burying the seeds of our sighs in the breath of black earth,” the words immediately resonated with Tom and Natalia, who then conjured up ideas for the commission. “It was one of the moments of creative synergy that we were looking for,” said Tom.
Tom and Natalia both want the piece to be as accessible as possible, and reaching broad audiences is central to the philosophy of Tom’s vocal collective SANSARA, which aims inspire, engage and connect people through choral music. “We feel, as a symbol, a choir has this amazing potential in how paired back it is. There are no instruments, it’s a just a body. Standing there and singing together is a symbol of what a microcosm of society is; it can say a lot.” Tom and Natalia also hope to share the score of this piece with Ukrainian refugees and other communities displaced by the war. The piece was considerately composed so that taking part does not require much musical training or singing ability. “The piece is designed to be as inclusive as possible,” says Tom, and therefore is in both Ukrainian and English.
6 months on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it is more important than ever to keep the conversation going. “In the beginning, people were surviving on adrenaline, and now the adrenaline is gone,” Natalia reflects. Choral music has long been a pillar of comfort and continuity in Ukraine, that has been able to weather out Russian imperialist storms. A Quiet Night is an active step towards preserving Ukrainian culture in the current wave of Russian aggression.
A Quiet Night is available on all streaming platforms.
With the release of A Quiet Night, SANSARA choir has launched a fundraising appeal for the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, based at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. Proceeds from the sales of the score will also be donated to the appeal.
