Ukrainian Carol of the Bells performed at bell tower of Kyiv's Caves Monastery for first time – video

The Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio has performed an impromptu version of the famous Christmas tune Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells) at the bell tower of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv).

Yuliia Tkach conducted the choir, Suspilne, Ukraine's public broadcaster, reported.

Tkach also took part in a re-enacted concert entitled Hey, Rozhestvo!, which took place on Christmas Eve at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine.

The event at the monastery was created with the assistance of the Mykola Leontovych Institute and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The Ukrainian carol Shchedryk has long been an integral part of Christmas culture worldwide. In the Western world, the song is known as the Carol of the Bells.

Based on a folk song arranged by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in the early 20th century, Shchedryk was first performed in 1916 by the Kyiv University Choir.

In 2022, Shchedryk was performed in the original language at Carnegie Hall in New York, in a triumphant comeback for the song a hundred years after its premiere.

A Ukrainian film of the same name, Shchedryk, released in 2023, tells the story of Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish families during both the Soviet and the Nazi occupations.

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