Pavlo Hashchenko: A Kobzar of the Slobozhanshchyna Tradition and Teacher of Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko
Pavlo Hashchenko (late 19th – early 20th century) was a Ukrainian kobzar and bandura player, and a representative of the Kharkiv (Slobozhanshchyna) school of kobzar art. He participated in the famous kobzar concert held during the 12th Archaeological Congress in Kharkiv in 1902 and was the teacher of Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko, one of the most renowned kobzars of the 20th century. Sources cite his patronymic in varying ways: either Mykhailovych or Ivanovych.
General Information
Few documentary records regarding Pavlo Hashchenko have survived. Researchers of the kobzar tradition note the scarcity of written information about him. His exact date and place of birth have not been established. It is known that he hailed from the Poltava Governorate but spent the greater part of his life in the Kharkiv region, in the village of Kostiantynivka within the then-Bohodukhiv uyezd (district)—an area now part of the Kharkiv Oblast. According to some accounts, he died in 1933.
Like most folk singers of his era, Hashchenko belonged to the kobzar community of Slobozhanshchyna. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this region still preserved the ancient guild customs of these singers, as well as their training protocols and repertoire.
The Kobzar Tradition and the Kharkiv School
To understand Pavlo Hashchenko’s place in the history of Ukrainian music, it is important to recall who the kobzars were: wandering singers, most of whom were blind. They performed dumy—lyro-epic works recounting historical events and human destinies—as well as historical, everyday, and spiritual songs, psalms, and dance tunes. They accompanied themselves on the kobza or bandura.
Kobzars organized themselves into guilds, or brotherhoods, governed by their own rules. Apprenticeship lasted several years under the guidance of a master mentor. Upon completion, the apprentice earned the right to perform independently. This rite of passage was known as vidklinshchyna or vyzvilka; without it, a singer was not recognized as a full-fledged member of the kobzar community.
By the late 19th century, researchers had identified several regional kobzar schools—such as those of Poltava, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv—each with its own distinctive repertoire and style of singing and playing. The Kharkiv (or Slobozhanshchyna) school was among the most prominent. Its ranks included Petro Drevchenko, Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko, Stepan Pasiuha, and Pavlo Hashchenko himself. The Bohodukhiv region was a particularly significant hub for the tradition, home to several renowned masters who trained apprentices there.
Apprenticeship
Information regarding Pavlo Hashchenko’s training has come down to us largely through the biography of his fellow kobzar, Stepan Pasiuha. Both men studied under the kobzar Dmytro Trochenko from the village of Liutivka in the Bohodukhiv district. Having received their vidklynshchyna—that is, the right to perform independently—they continued to hone their skills under the guidance of the kobzar Stefan Yakovych Bidil from the village of Murafa in the same district.
This path was typical for the kobzar tradition of that era. After acquiring the fundamentals from an initial teacher, singers would often move on to another master to expand their repertoire and refine their technique. Thus, Hashchenko developed within the milieu of Bohodukhiv kobzars and mastered the local tradition directly from its practitioners.
The 12th Archaeological Congress in Kharkiv (1902)
The most well-documented episode in Pavlo Hashchenko’s creative biography is linked to the 12th Archaeological Congress held in Kharkiv in 1902. Archaeological congresses were held regularly across the Russian Empire—each time in a different city—bringing together leading scholars in the fields of antiquity, history, and ethnography.
The Kharkiv congress went down in the history of Ukrainian culture primarily due to a concert featuring folk singers. It was organized by the writer, art historian, and bandura player Hnat Khotkevych, who also prepared an accompanying presentation on the kobzar tradition. Six kobzars were invited to the congress. Four of them represented the Kharkiv region: Petro Drevchenko, Pavlo Hashchenko, Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko, and Hrytsko Netesa. Mykhailo Kravchenko performed representing the Poltava region, and Terentiy Parkhomenko represented the Chernihiv region. Pavlo Hashchenko performed both as a soloist and in an ensemble with other kobzars. During his solo set, he performed the satirical song "Popadia" (The Priest's Wife). Songs of this nature were a vital part of the kobzar repertoire; alongside heroic dumy (epic ballads) and spiritual works, the singers maintained a stock of humorous and satirical pieces that poked fun at human foibles and social customs.
The 1902 concert was a pivotal event for the kobzar tradition. Attendees of the congress—including prominent scholars—heard authentic performances of dumy and songs. This significantly elevated the social standing of the kobzars, who were then being persecuted by the Tsarist authorities, and drew the attention of the intelligentsia and researchers. For many performers, including Hashchenko, the congress served as a gateway to a wider audience.
Portrait by Opanas Slastion
In 1905, the artist Opanas Slastion painted a portrait of Pavlo Hashchenko. Slastion not only depicted kobzars and lirnyks (hurdy-gurdy players) but also recorded their works and kept notes on each performer. Today, his portraits of these folk singers serve as valuable iconographic and ethnographic sources.
Slastion noted that Hashchenko knew four dumy. For a kobzar of that era, this was a significant achievement. Dumy were considered the most complex and prestigious part of the repertoire, requiring an exceptional memory and the ability to deliver a narrative in a recitative style.
Concert Activities After 1902
Following his performance at the archaeological congress, Hashchenko participated in numerous kobzar concerts. According to researchers, he conducted himself modestly, without drawing undue attention to himself. Consequently, his name rarely appeared in contemporary reviews and critiques.
It is known that between 1911 and 1912, Pavlo Hashchenko, together with Stepan Pasiuha and Petro Drevchenko, performed at concerts organized by the Ukrainian intelligentsia in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, Odesa, Myrhorod, Okhtyrka, and other cities. These concerts were part of a broader movement to preserve and popularize the art of the kobzar in the early 20th century. They were often organized by figures of the national-cultural movement, for whom kobzars were living bearers of the people's historical memory.
Student: Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko
Pavlo Hashchenko’s most significant legacy in the history of Ukrainian music is linked to his student, Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko. Kuchuhura-Kucherenko was born in 1878 in the village of Murafa, in the Bohodukhiv district. He lost his sight in childhood and learned to sing and play the bandura under Hashchenko’s tutelage.
The student went on to have a brilliant career. At the 12th Archaeological Congress in 1902, Kuchuhura-Kucherenko was the youngest participant in the kobzar concert. Hnat Khotkevych recognized his exceptional artistic talent and devoted considerable attention to him while preparing for a concert. Later, at Khotkevych’s invitation, Kuchuhura-Kucherenko taught the bandura at the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama School in Kyiv from 1908 to 1910.
His repertoire comprised over five hundred folk songs and dumy (epic ballads), some of which he composed himself. He performed in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Katerynoslav, and Poltava, as well as in Rostov-on-Don, Minsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw. The renowned folklorist Filaret Kolessa recorded his performances of specific dumy. Kuchuhura-Kucherenko perished during the Stalinist repressions.
The fact that a performer of such caliber was among Hashchenko’s students testifies to the thoroughness of the school of playing he was able to pass on. It was through Kuchuhura-Kucherenko that the traditions of the Bohodukhiv kobzar school—assimilated from Hashchenko—reached the professional stage and influenced the subsequent development of the art of bandura playing.
Circle of Contemporaries
It is appropriate to view Pavlo Hashchenko’s work within the context of his closest contemporaries from the Slobozhanshchyna region. Stepan Pasiuha (1862–1933)—who, like Hashchenko, studied under the same masters—possessed an extraordinarily powerful voice, according to the recollections of contemporaries, and was considered one of the region’s most outstanding kobzars. Petro Drevchenko (1863–1934) studied under the kobzar Hnat Honcharenko; his playing was highly esteemed by Mykola Lysenko and Hnat Khotkevych. Together, these performers formed the core of the Kharkiv school of kobzar art in the early 20th century. Their joint performances in the 1910s marked one of the final brilliant expressions of the traditional kobzar art form prior to the Soviet era.
Significance and Legacy
Pavlo Hashchenko did not leave behind many recordings, and details of his biography are known only in fragments. Nevertheless, his contribution to the history of Ukrainian musical culture is substantial and distinct:
he was a bearer and continuator of the Slobozhanshchyna kobzar tradition, which he mastered under the tutelage of Bohodukhiv masters Dmytro Trochenko and Stefan Bidil;
he participated in the kobzar concert at the 12th Archaeological Congress in 1902, an event that marked a turning point in the public perception of the kobzar tradition;
his repertoire included dumy—the oldest and most valuable stratum of kobzar artistry;
he mentored Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko, one of the most prominent kobzars of the 20th century.
An image of Pavlo Hashchenko has been preserved thanks to a 1905 portrait by Opanas Slastion. His name is included in the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine and appears in studies on the history of the kobzar tradition, particularly in works concerning Ukrainian itinerant folk singers. The fate of Pavlo Hashchenko is typical of many folk musicians whose work existed primarily within the oral tradition. Their names have survived only thanks to scattered notes left by researchers, artists, and concert organizers. That is why every reliably established detail about such performers helps reconstruct the picture of the Ukrainian kobzar tradition, which experienced its final flourishing at the turn of the 20th century.
