Written by my friend, colleague, and voice student Genya Muzyczka:
My mother was from Berezyna, Ukraine, and my father was from Markopil, Ukraine. We still have family there, but my brother and I never met them. When my parents died, the connection was lost. After the end of WWII, in December, 1950, my parents and my brother immigrated to the US from Germany (where they had been in forced labor under the Nazi’s). They went directly to the Ukrainian community center on Morton St. in Newark, where they lived with several other families in the basement for several months. My parents eventually found work and learned to speak English. After a few years, when they were more settled, I was born—in Orange, NJ. We had no car, so it was a long walk to church and school—from Irvington to the Vailsburg section of Newark. My father learned to drive when I was 11 years old, and then we finally bought a car.
I have fond memories of my parents and their friends gathering for dinners. They would laugh and drink and sing. That’s what Ukrainians do most—they love to sing. I also loved the Easter season., and I remember walking the mile to St. John’s Church in Newark on Holy Saturday to get our Easter baskets blessed. The basket had some of my favorite foods: kielbasa and babka, as well as decorated hard-boiled eggs, butter, ham, cheese and horseradish. The basket would also have a few pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs), and it was covered with a Ukrainian embroidered towel. The blessed food was our breakfast on Easter morning. My father would peel his hard-boiled egg, cut it in half, shave about a half inch of spicy fresh horseradish onto the top of one half, and pop it into his mouth. The tears would start streaming down his face, and we would all laugh. Fond memories….
“Bozhe Velykyj, Yedynyj”
Mykola Lysenko
(Prayer for Ukraine)
Soprano, Genya Muzyczka
Pianist, David Maiullo
Genya Muzyczka: I heard this choral piece sung many times throughout my childhood and youth—it is a part of my very being. I am Ukrainian American, and this song is considered the spiritual anthem of the Ukrainian people. It is a prayer for unity and peace, and it is known and sung by Ukrainians worldwide.
God, the Great, the Almighty, protect our Ukraine; Bless her with the freedom and light of your holy rays. With the light of learning and knowledge enlighten us, your children. In pure love for our country, God, let us grow. We pray, God Almighty, protect our beloved Ukraine; Grant our people all your grace and abundance.
Grant us freedom; grant us good fortune; bless us with a kind world; Bless our people, O God, with happiness forever and ever.
akintsucrooner 