It is difficult to overestimate the resonance caused by Mykola Lentovych’s Shchedrik in the culture of the whole world. The English-language remake of this song gave hope that “everything will be fine” to the main character, a rascal from the cult comedy “Home Alone 2”. He accompanied the exploits of the protagonist of the no less famous action movie “Strong Nut 2”. It was even learned by Hogwarts students in one of the parts of “Harry Potter”… The list of well-known films in which this song is found can be continued for a long time.
This singing itself, despite its absolute musical self-sufficiency, seems to aspire to be expressed in some additional artistic form. “I myself often think about combining sound and color,” said Mykola Leontovych about his works. Many artists of the beginning of the 20th century were engaged in similar searches for additional forms of expression of their works. Wassyl Kandinsky in those years called his painting music. And Les Kurbas, including a film projector during his performances, blurred the boundaries between theater and cinema. It was then – in 1916 – that the premiere of the final version of “The Generous” took place.
Almost a century has passed since then, and none of the contemporary artists has reinterpreted Leontovich’s brilliant song. In the mass consciousness, it remains no more than a companion of the New Year holidays. Individual artists tried to make corrections to this cliché. However, their variations on the “Generous” theme were essentially not much different from what can be seen in Hollywood films. Like the creators of the latter, most artists only illustrated the colorful flower of this song, without delving into the riches of the immeasurable Ukrainian ethnos, where it has deep roots. So the tectonic subtext of this work remains somewhere at the bottom of this work, still not receiving additional space for expression.
It is simply impossible for a representative of another culture to reinterpret this chant sufficiently broadly and accurately. After all, only that artist, who was born and grew up in our culture, was given to feel the tectonic subtext of “Schedryk”.
For all its external festivity, the original version of this song evokes disturbing emotions. The low tones and agonizing rhythm, which Leontovych gave it, hint the listener to the sad times of the First World War, during which its premiere took place. Its too short duration (less than two minutes) is like a brief glimmer of hope in the brutality of the 20th century, which was barely born at that time – one of the bloodiest in the history of Ukraine.
In 2011, the famous Ukrainian animator Stepan Koval, using 150 kg of plasticine and 100 kg of salt, filmed the short film “Shchedryk”. Like the swallow that brought good news to its owner, about which the song is sung, the film became the first author’s visual reinterpretation of Leontovych’s work. Instead of angelic voices, this song in the film is performed by Oleg Skrypka’s frank baritone. Instead of the usual Christmas icing, with which Leontovych’s work is associated in the mass consciousness, a completely unexpected disturbing and ideological story unfolds here.
The script of the well-known storyteller Sashko Lirnyk, which became the basis of the short film, tells about the adventures of a boy who is desperately trying to save the New Year’s holiday at a time when the powers of this world prefer to ban it. In a strange way, in the middle of a gray city filled with faceless skyscrapers, an ancient fairy-tale village appears, in which there are colorful huts and a grandmother prepares delicacies. Such a kind of village-farm. After tasting the grandmother’s sweets, all the adult characters of the tape turn into children.
Therefore, Sashko Lirnyk and Stepan Koval became the first who managed to express this disturbing echo of “Schedryk” cinematically.