Three volunteers of Ukraine's army made a video performing Ukrainian Christmas carol "Shchedryk," known internationally as "Carol of the Bells."
Dmytro Tolmach, Bohdan Robulec and Yevhen Mahrunchyk took a break from their service to record the video as part of the Christmas music project of Oksana Pervova-Roshka, a composer from western Ukrainian city Chernyvtsi, which features various people who are not professionally engaged in any musical activities performing carols.
The project of Pervova-Roshka resulted in the videos of 30 carols being performed in 20 languages by 250 people, all from western Lviv and Chernivtsi Oblasts. Children, internally displaced people from Donbas and Crimea, officials, and journalists were among the people singing carols in the videos.
The soldiers Tolmach, Robulec, and Mahrunchyk recorded “Shchedryk” in just two hours, and went back to their service in Ukraine’s east. On the video, the servicemen sing together both in a recording studio and outside.
“Shchedryk” music was written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1901-1902 as the first draft, and finalized in 1919. The lyrics tell about a swallow that flew into a household to sing about upcoming wealth.
In Ukraine, “Shchedryk” was first performed by a choir at St. Volodymyr University in 1916 (now Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University).
In 1936 Peter Wilhousky, an American composer and conductor of Ukrainian ethnic motives, wrote lyrics in English for the “Shchedryk” melody. The song then became known as “Carol of the Bells.”
NBA’s 2012 Christmas commercial used the tune of the carol, played by dribbling basketballs.
Music bands have covered “Carol of the Bells” in different styles. Irish group “Celtic Woman” recorded this song twice: in 2006 for their album “A Christmas Celebration” and in 2008 for “A Celtic Family Christmas”.
Steven Sharp Nelson, known for his part in “The Piano Guys,” American musical group, combined two songs, “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” in 2011.
Pentatonix, an American cappella group of five vocalists, covered “Carol of the Bells” in 2012 on its “PTXmas” album.
