Two women sit on stage with microphones holding a Ukrainian flag between them

A woman sitting on a bench with her knees up close to her chest, backlit by the sun

Two women perform in front of a crowd, lit by Christmas lights

A woman in traditional Ukrainian clothing, looking down with her hands on her chest

Two women in traditional Ukranian clothing standing in a forest looking at the camera

Kurbasy

Lviv

Ukraine

Season 8: 2025

Season 4: 2018

Available October-November 2025

Affirmation in a time of violence and resistance: Kurbasy’s urgent, time bending Songs of the Ukrainian Forest

The idea of culture as a cosmic living organism is central to Kurbasy, whose folk-based multimedia performances vibrate in tight vocal harmonies, resonant lyrics, distinctive instrumentation, and phantasmagoric visual imagery. Kurbasy’s sonic-theatrical explorations of Ukraine’s rich trove of calendar songs, lullabies, and legends, conjure the natural world, beliefs, and rituals, channelling contemporary connections to an archaic past.

Songs of the Ukrainian Forest, was conceived by Kurbasy’s founders and friends of 24 years, actor-vocalists Natalia Rybka-Parkhomenko and Maria Oneschak, in a time of pandemic lockdown and then national invasion. The duo is performing the work at home and abroad as a polyphonic vocal piece while building the larger instrumental frame that will surround it on tour to the U.S. in 2025.

The 14-song cycle draws on the repertoires of the Eastern, Central and Western Regions of Ukraine. The language varies according to the origin of the songs, for example those of the border regions with Poland are in Lemsky dialect, a mixture of Ukrainian and Polish. The lyrics tell stories of boys and girls, stories of love, joy, but also of war. “We want to affirm our loud and clear freedom, our love for our country and for our people,” said Mariia. “We want to show our independence and strength,” Natalia adds.

Spring is summoned, the summer season is celebrated, wedding ceremonies are sung, and life stories told. Kurbasy envelops us in magical-musical charm.
LOCALCOMPASS.DE