The Embodiment of Modern Ukrainian Pop Intonationality in the Creative Partnership of Bohdan Vesolovsky and Irena Yarosevych
The article is dedicated to the study of the phenomenon of corporeal intonationality in Ukrainian modern pop music of the 1930s, based on the example of the creative collaboration between composer Bohdan Vesolovsky and singer Irena Yarosevych. The focus is on interwar Lviv as a cultural center where an intensive genre and intonational renewal of Ukrainian song was taking place, particularly through the adaptation of popular Western genres (tango, foxtrot, rumba, jazz) to the Ukrainian musical environment. The article analyzes the transformation of Ukrainian song in response to the new aesthetic challenges of the era, tracing how the embodied intonation of popular global dance genres acquired a new form when combined with Ukrainian melodic style, intonational coloring, and psychological depth. Special attention is given to the adaptation of the bodily freedom characteristic of overseas genres to the Galician mentality, marked by restraint and moral "framing." In this context, the activity of the Yabtso-Jazz band, founded in 1930, and its impact on the formation of a new model of Ukrainian popular music are examined. Through the analysis of specific songs ("The Time Will Come", "For You Again", "Goodnight, My Love", "The Girl Was Like a Candy"), the article traces how Vesolovsky's musical and poetic techniques embody a modern concept of sensuality, where the bodily expression of world dance genres harmonizes with Ukrainian intonational dominance. It is revealed that even within the framework of the "light" entertainment genre, the composer maintains a high artistic standard. Special attention is given to the image of Irena Yarosevych (Renata Bohdanska) as an incarnation and symbol of female embodiment in Ukrainian pop music, which combines traditional modesty with emotional expressiveness. The article outlines an important stage in the development of Ukrainian pop music as a modern phenomenon, where not only a genre transformation occurs but also a new bodily articulation of Ukrainian identity. It offers a new approach to analyzing musical intonation through the prism of embodiment, opening up broad opportunities for further scholarly reflection in the fields of musicology, cultural studies, and the history of Ukrainian modernism.
Authors
- Марія Стоколяс (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2436-8104)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ukrainian music
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.32782/2224-0926-2025-2-53-10
- Primary Topic
- Asian Culture and Media Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00