Leonovich - Biblical Songs (High Voice)

Antonín Dvořák has long been one of my favorite song composers. His ability to blend the German Lied tradition of Schubert and Schumann with a distinctly Slavic melodic and harmonic language is extraordinary, and his Love Songs, Op. 83, remain for me one of the pinnacles of late Romantic art song. This set of biblical songs grew out of that admiration, especially for Dvořák’s Biblical Songs, Op. 99, and from a desire to create biblical art songs in Ukrainian, a language still underrepresented in this repertoire.

The first two songs were composed in 2010, using the Ivan Ohienko Bible translation, a precise and reverent Ukrainian translation well suited to musical setting. They were written in collaboration with the baritone Mark Wanich, who learned the Ukrainian diction for the project and sang the songs convincingly enough to be praised by native speakers. A third song was originally written in English in 2013, but the cycle remained unfinished for many years. In January 2025, encouraged by my wife to remain with the Ukrainian language, I returned to the project, transferred the earlier songs from Finale to Dorico, revised details, rewrote the third song in Ukrainian, and added another verse for fuller textual context.

This set includes a score, a separate voice part, and IPA transcriptions for all of the songs, making the music accessible to singers who are not familiar with Ukrainian. The cycle is suitable for recital, sacred concert use, church programs, and singers interested in Slavic-language art song, biblical texts, and late Romantic musical expression. Selected songs from the cycle may be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-jHzwF8h0