Notes by a Ukrainian Musicologist in Edinburgh

Author

Letychevska Oksana

a Ph.D. in Art Studies, a research fellow of the Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology of M. Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000000261037072

Notes by a Ukrainian Musicologist in Edinburgh

Abstract

The article highlights some aspects of cultural and scientific life in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland – one of the countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. During the full-scale russian aggression in Ukraine, the government and the people of Scotland support Ukrainian migrants and help them integrate into the local community.

Complementing the romanticized image of Scotland formed in the public imagination, the importance of its cultural, educational and scientific traditions, in particular the activities of one of the oldest university centres in the world, which inspired such historical phenomena as the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18^th and early 19^th centuries and the Industrial Revolution of the late 19^th century, is emphasised. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, still plays an important role in the life of the city, shaping its social environment and cultural aura.

The review presents some information about the activities of the Reid Music School – the music department of the University of Edinburgh and highlights the music therapy work of its Honorary Professor Nigel Osborne – a humanitarian volunteer in Ukraine. Also, it outlines the details of the report by musicologist Flora Willson from King?ʼs College London, «Telephone Lines, the New York Subway and Operatic Culture in the 1890s». Information is given about the project of the researcher at the Centre for Theology and Social Problems at the University of Edinburgh Dr. Caleb Froehlich «Five Objects for Art and Peaceful Living», dedicated to the creative cooperation among Ukrainian migrants and Scottish residents in the fields of music making, photography, weaving, pottery and cooking. The musical part of the project, in which the author of the article participated, began with a songwriting workshop (Songwriting sessions). During the meetings, Scottish and Ukrainian musicians exchanged information about the folk song creativity of each nation and collaborated on creating musical compositions together. This led to the creative collaboration of musicians, which has plans for further development.

Keywords

Scotland, University of Edinburgh, musicology in Great Britain, Ukrainian migrants in Scotland.