Ukrainian folk music from the Hutsul region. Organizer of Hutsul folk music bands. Arranged several hundred Hutsul musical variations. He created his own Hutsul melodies, in particular, "Mogur's Hutsulka to Dance", "Hutsulka in Order", which consists of 32 melodies (collins). For this, Mogur was called "Musician from God", "King of Hutsul music", "Hutsul Paganini", "Violin Wizard" in artistic circles and among the public.
Many well-known musicians of the Hutsul Region passed through Mogur's school, who continue the work of their teacher. That is why they composed a song about the Hutsul maestro: "If Mogur plays the violin, people will be amazed, but say that there will be another Mogur soon."
Since 2007, four regional Festivals of authentic Hutsul music named after Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur) have been held in the Verkhovyna Region to honor the memory of this outstanding Hutsul artist.
"Festival of Hutsul triple musics named after Mogur" became an important artistic event designed to open to all lovers of authentic Hutsul music the beautiful layer of folk art of the Hutsul region.
Biography
Childhood and youth
The famous Hutsul musician Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur) was born on March 10, 1920 in the village of Zelene in Verkhovyna Region. His parents: Ivan Hrymalyuk (Kydychukiv) and Yvdonya Zelenchuk (Yilinchukova), were natives of the village of Zeleny.
During a meeting with Ivan Zelenchuk, Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur) recalls where he got his famous nickname "Mogur": "As a small child, I almost died, I lost the sight in one eye, I suffered a lot. I was born and raised by strangers: Dmytro Mohoruk (Mogur) with his wife Kateryna. They had no children and took me as their own. I was good at receptions. I even got my local name "Mogur" from the guardian."
But soon the happiness ended. His adoptive father died, and at the age of 13, Vasyl had to return to his mother, in the village of Zelene, in the hamlet of Roztitska. Mom believed that "No matter what happens to a musician...". But Vasyl still picked up the violin and played secretly. One day, his mother caught him doing this and broke his violin. Then the boy ran away again.
He came to the village of Zelene. "The commandant of the guard post (a Pole) Yagilnitsky listened to me carefully, and then he brought a violin from the second house and told me to play. I played, and he listened to me, listened and said: "You will be a great musician. I give you this violin, play for your health. Only Abbes never stole or lied in his life." I later learned that it was his late son's violin. I thanked him for such an expensive gift, cried and left Zeleny for the world for his eyes..." Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur) recalls.
The future maestro learned to play the violin from local musicians Havyts and Shkapyuk. Later, he began to make a living from music: he was invited to play at Hutsul christenings and weddings. Then he created his own band.
"My band was good, the boys really liked music, they played well, they abstained from vodka. For 30 years, we played a lot of Hutsul weddings in the villages of the Verkhovyna district."
Privacy
He married Vasylyna Martyshchuk, an "old man" at the age of 35. The woman was from Verkhniy Yasenov, from under the Written Stone. They lived together for 11 years, there were no children. The second woman is Anna Kalynyak from the village of Kryvobrody. At first, the couple lived in this village, then, after the robbery of their house, they moved to the village of Kovalivka, Kolomyya district.
Creative heritage
Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur), Ivan Zelenchuk
Musician Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur), local historian and scientist Ivan Zelenchuk with his daughter and son in Kryvorivna
For half a century of creative activity, Mogur created a number of authentic musical works and earned great popular love and respect throughout the Hutsul region.
All his life, the outstanding folk artist lived and created beautiful Hutsul music in his native Prykarpattia: in Zeleny, Verkhovyna, Kryvobrody and Kovalivka. Starting from 1945, for more than 50 years, Vasyl Hrymalyuk skillfully performed Hutsul melodies on the violin at important republican and all-Union music competitions, festivals and numerous Hutsul weddings, church holidays, christenings, name days, housewarmings and tolokas for local residents of the Hutsul region and left beautiful memories of his music in the folk memory of the region.
The highest world recognition came to Mogur in 1971, when he, at the age of 50, performed the author's musical work "Morning on Polonin" and won a brilliant victory at the "International Music Congress" in Moscow.
In 1977, the All-Union company "Melody" released a set of 4 gramophone records "Ukrainian Threefold Music". On gramophone record No. 2, a violin solo "Folk improvisation about Dovbush" performed by Mogur was recorded. In 1987, Mogur convincingly took first place in Ukraine at the famous Ukrainian radio contest "Golden Keys" in Kyiv.
According to the research of Professor Ihor Matsievskyi: "It was in the art of playing the violin that the creative genius of the most outstanding artistic individuals, the classics of Hutsul music Ivan Kurylyuk (Havytsia), Vasyl Hrymaluk and Spyridon Prylypchan, was revealed."
Legends and references to Mogur
Still in lifeMogur was called the "Hutsul Paganini", folk legends were made about his musical gift, and this is the highest popular recognition of a talented person for his skill, not for his rank.
"We children knew that this man played the violin so well that people left their favorite jobs when he started playing and went to listen to him. And since they said that Mogur would play at the wedding, no matter how much money a person has - because with us, or to go to a wedding, you have to spend money - then he will borrow, but he will go to that wedding, because Mogur is playing there."
"There are many legends surrounding the figure of Mogur. There are completely mythical stories about his magical power: as if the strings were broken during musicians' competitions at weddings or in "rematches" at parties, when he performed a wedding without consent, it "didn't go well" for either the musicians or the young . There are also private testimonies of some familiar musicians: Mogur could dominate a musician so much that the accordion broke into him and he fainted. Some of his students, although they had already passed all the musical science, still followed him to weddings for a long time, playing a secondary role, so that to overcome such invisible skills - Ostap Kostyuk, leader of the Hutsul band "Bai".
At the invitation of the outstanding film director Serhiy Parajanov, the Mogura Hutsul musical band took part in the dubbing of the film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" at the Kyiv Film Studio named after Oleksandr Dovzhenka.
"When we went to Kyiv to the Dovzhenka film studio for dubbing, the musicians were punished for more than a week to play. Paradzhanov kept saying: "You don't play what you want. I don't need this music, I need something so that I can live felt, что это очень давнее." They overplayed everything, and Paradzhanov persisted: "It's not that." The guys are already angry, tomorrow we have to go back to Verkhovyna. They consulted among themselves: "Maybe we'll play him the music that makes everyone laugh ? It is already so old that if you play it among people, they start making fun of it." It was music that Mogur knew from his uncle. When it was played, Paradzhanov said: "This is what I need!" It is this melody and other ancient Hutsul melodies that sound in the brilliant film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors".
Pupils
People's artist and philosopher Vasyl Hrymalyuk entered the history of ethnomusical art of the Hutsul region and Ukraine not only as a famous folk musician, but also as a wise advisor to talented folk masters of homemade Hutsul violins, cymbals and floyars and the best tester of newly created musical instruments. Today, in the Hutsul village of Kovalivka in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Vasyl Martyshchuk, a talented folk master of classical and Hutsul violins, lives and works, who was a close friend and student of Vasyl Hrymalyuk.
While working, V. Hrymalyuk became convinced that it is possible to achieve high-quality sounding of Hutsul folk melodies only on a very perfect homemade violin. In his village of Kovalivka in the Kolomiysk region, he found a talented violin maker Vasyl Martyshchuk, born in 1943, who for 13 years made perfect classical violins to the order of the Moscow Experimental Violin Factory.
Two outstanding Hutsul artists V. Hrymalyuk and V. Martyshchuk set themselves a difficult creative task: to create a perfect home-made violin on which you can best perform traditional Hutsul melodies. For a long time, the talented violin master persistently improved his model of the Hutsul violin, and the outstanding Hutsul violinist V. Hrymalyuk tested the quality of their sound. As a result of long-term creative searches of two outstanding folk artists of the Hutsul region, a perfect model of the Hutsul violin was created, which among local musicians received the name "Martyshchuk's Hutsul violin".
It is in great demand among modern folk violinists of the Hutsul region.
Vasyl Hrymalyuk and Vasyl Martyshchuk
The brilliant student Vasyl Martyshchuk with his brilliant teacher Vasyl Mogur
Mogur recalls: "I will name you my best students whom I taught to play the violin: Vasyl Ilyuk (Gurduz), Heads; Vasyl Zitynyuk (Poshtariv), Zamagura; Gotych Nikola (Kotso), Verkhovyna; brothers Nikola and Vasyl Shatruky (Shitryuk), Berezhnytsia and many others. Ivan Sorych (Tyudyk), Zamagura also taught me how to play cymbals; Ivan Ilyuk (Ilyukiv), Khodak; Ivan Semenyuk (Cherleniv), Zamagura; Vasyl Fedinchuk (Grizdakiv), Chairman; Mykola Semeniv (Semyintsyv), Kryvorivnia; Vasyl Kikinchuk (Olenivskyi), Zamagura. I also taught many people to play accordion and trumpet. Ihor Matsievskyi came to us with his daughter to write about Hutsul music."
Mogur passed away in winter, February 3, 1998, and was buried in this glorious Hutsul village.
In the village of Zelene in the Verkhovyna Region, it is planned to create a "Music Memorial Museum of Vasyl Hrymalyuk (Mogur)" in his own house.
Interesting Facts
"The film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" was shot in the Carpathians during 1963-1964. The music in the film was performed by Vasyl Hrymalyuk's local band Mogura," says local historian Ivan Zelenchuk. However, only the drummer made it out of the entire team.
In 1971, Mogur took first place in Moscow at the "International Music Congress" and became its laureate. Then inThe outstanding folk musician brilliantly performed his suite "Morning on Poloniny" at the Pyotr Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. For his victory at the world music competition, the famous Ukrainian musician and composer was awarded a gold medal and a gold watch with his name.
There is a documentary video film "Hutsul music of Mogura", shot and edited by Ivan Slipenchuk.
