«Both Dead and Alive…»: Prophetic Ideas of Taras Shevchenko In Antin Rudnytsky's channel «Poslanie»

Abstract

Ukrainian emigration culture is an exciting and understudied page of diaspora research. Almost three decades after a long life, the names of its prominent figures are actively returning to the history of our culture, in particular Antina Rudnytsky - the primary representative of the urban elite of the American diaspora. The life-giving work of washing covered the period three-quarters of the twentieth century. He was a talented composer, pianist, conductor, music, and public figure who lived half of his life in USA (1937-1975). Still, He remained a conscious Ukrainian, a patriot who, even in exile, carried out activities related to Ukraine, its history, and modernity.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the composer redoubled his decision to develop the Ukrainian diaspora's public life actively. In 1957, Antin Rudnytsky willingly responded to the request of the community and the Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society to write a symphonic cantata on the words of the immortal Shevchenko's Message ("To both the dead and the living ...") on the centenary of Taras Shevchenko's death.

The cantata "Poslanie" played an essential role in uniting the Ukrainian national forces in the United States and Europe, Australia, and Canada. This proved that the state of Ukraine and faith in them would never fade in the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people, both in the diaspora and in mainland Ukraine.