During our rehearsal on 1st March 2022, the members of the Goethe Choir Dublin, directed by John Dexter, decided to learn and record Mykola Lysenko’s Prayer for Ukraine as a sign of solidarity with Ukrainian friends and colleagues, and all the Ukrainian people under siege in their own country.
Prayer for Ukraine (Ukrainian: Молитва за Україну, romanized: Molytva za Ukrayinu) is a Ukrainian hymn published in 1885, which became the spiritual anthem of Ukraine. The text was written by Oleksandr Konysky, and the music was composed by Mykola Lysenko, a composer who inspired a Ukrainian national school of composition.
It gained national significance when it was performed by mass choirs during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917–1920.
The song became the regular closing hymn in services of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and other churches. It is also sung at the end of public meetings including on the Day of Unity of Ukraine.
Many thanks to choir member Brian McIvor for producing the recording and video.
