ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES

Many people recognize this composition

For example it's known as a #Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells" in the USA

But the original title is "#Shchedryk"

Composed in #Ukraine by Mykola Leontovych about 110 years ago

The original lyrics tell a story of a swallow flying into a household at #NewYears. To sing of the wealth that will come in Springtime

Here it is symbolically performed in the machine hall of a thermal power plant destroyed by Russian strikes

#UkraineWar

Dec 20 at 4:50amWeb
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

Such a beloved holiday song, but its story is quite sad

#Shchedryk was composed by #MykolaLeontovych based on Ukrainian #folkMusic during #WWI, when #AustriaHungary and #Russia waged terrible fighting in #Ukraine

And he composed it in #Pokrovsk

Pokrovsk at this very moment is seeing terrible fighting:

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4071512-ukrainian-forces-destroy-russian-armored-vehicles-near-pokrovsk.html

Mykola was assassinated at age 43 by a chekist (#Soviet security agent: any Ukrainian seen as nationalistic even remotely was seen as a threat)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Leontovych

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

this is the flag of #Pokrovsk

based on a sketch by #MykolaLeontovych's father

it's the swallow in "#Shchedryk," come to sing of the Spring to come after the hard Winter, a story from Ukrainian #folklore

once a city of 60,000, 1,500 remained by July 2025

people are dying in heavy fighting there right now

the next time you hear "Carol of the Bells" aka "Shchedryk" this holiday season, think and pray for Pokrovsk and #Ukraine

https://theclaquers.com/en/posts/14245

https://youtu.be/EKkzbbLYPuI

#UkraineWar

Show threadSiegfried.Dec 20
@benroyce Thank You for the story behind it! Heartbreaking.
Show threadMartinDec 20
@benroyce Oh wow! This is beautiful!
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@mcourcel

Singing to the wealth to come after a cruel long winter of war

Show threadMartinDec 20
@benroyce Well, yes, there's that.
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderDec 20

@benroyce

Very moving.

Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderDec 20

@benroyce

I was wondering what the words were, and found an article that has them. Scroll down the article to find. In Ukrainian with English translation.

https://snyder.substack.com/p/o-generous-one

O Generous One!

Christmas Carols, 2/2

Thinking about...
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@Edelruth

Thank you! Excellent read

Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Dec 20

@Edelruth

Wonderful to read, thanks ❤️

@benroyce

Show threadFunGuy2PlayWithDec 20

@Edelruth @benroyce

Another great (there are many!) version is by #Eileen

... In 1921, the Ukrainian National Chorus sung the song in the United States to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall. Later, Peter J. Wilhousky rearranged the melody for orchestra and wrote the new lyrics in English thus creating “Carol of the Bells”. The original “Shchedryk” by Leontovych was intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir.

https://youtu.be/GqeJ38DThVc?si=dBQW49mWMvIJJpFi

Shchedryk / Щедрик. Carol of the Bells. Original Ukrainian Version with English and Ukrainian Lyrics

YouTube
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderDec 20

@funguy2playwith @benroyce

Thank you!

Show threadFunGuy2PlayWithDec 20

@Edelruth @benroyce

My bad, he actually mentions the Eileen version on the second last paragraph. I didn't click the link until now. Sorry.

Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderDec 20

@funguy2playwith @benroyce

No worries.

Show threadJune BlueSpruceDec 20
@benroyce Thank you for posting this. It moved me to tears. Inspiration for continuing to fight to protect #democracy and defeat #authoritarianism. ❤️ And to support #Ukraine!
Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Dec 20

@jbluespruce

Tears here as well.

@benroyce

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20
@pascaline @jbluespruce 🙏
Show threadmartin lentink 🇪🇺 🇺🇦📎Dec 20
@benroyce Everybody should see this.
Show threadGrassroots JoeDec 20

@benroyce

Awesome.

Show threadDonCCDec 20
@benroyce
Millie grazie! non ho saputo!
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@DonChacale

Non lo sapevo nemmeno io. Dovevo assolutamente condividerlo.

Show threadDonCCDec 20
@benroyce
fatto molto bene, amico
Show threadTrimTab 🇺🇦Dec 20
@benroyce very touching ♥️
Show threadSu_GDec 20
@benroyce
Gosh… that brought tears to my eyes… such a beautiful performance of a loved classic… but it’s the guys in the hard hats & the ruined setting that did it. 🙏🏻
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@Su_G

it's very powerful

Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Dec 20

@Su_G

Same here, the destruction with the tiny flame trying to hold on. There is still light, as I cried way back in 2013. It is dark, but there is still light. Night has fallen, but it came out of light and will give birth to light.

@benroyce

Show threadSiegfried.Dec 20
@pascaline @Su_G @benroyce When it's dark around, It's easier to see the light.
Be a light!
Show threadDavidDec 20

@benroyce

I have to admit that I thought it was part of the Harry Potter soundtrack.
The song is not very common in Germany, I think.

Thank you for highlighting.

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@davidbeck

it's very well known in the USA

the lyrics were rewritten and it focused on being performed for bells by a guy named Wilhousky who was an arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra. NBC was and is a major television channel and beamed it everywhere. it became very popular in churches for Christmas

Show threadKlaus Vink SlottDec 20
@benroyce So beautiful ❤️
Perhaps naive, but I hope that this spring will be the one where the forces of darkness are dispelled and Ukraine can flourish once again.
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@MrManor

there's nothing wrong with hope

Show threadCalicosineDec 20
@benroyce This post reminded me of Sarajevo and the story behind it (there seem to be several versions of this one but I was only aware of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra version before today).
Show threadAnneHDec 20
@benroyce This is amazing. Thanks for sharing. Hoping the springtime of peace will follow the dark days of war.
Show threadApril’s FoolDec 20
@benroyce I’m crying. Thank you for sharing.
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 20

@apriloq

😁

the staging, the performance, the filming: perfection

Show threadApril’s FoolDec 20
@benroyce 💯
Show threadBen ToddDec 20

I bought a version of this just released on bandcamp a few days ago.

https://michaelherter.bandcamp.com/track/winter-swallow-christmas-bell-carol-orchestral-adaptation

Winter Swallow (Christmas Bell Carol Orchestral Adaptation), by Michael HERTER

track by Michael HERTER

Michael HERTER
Show threadBot_AnixDec 21
@benroyce yes, i heard about that song it in yt.
A very interesting story!!!!
Show threadSiegfried.Dec 21
@benroyce With tears in my eyes I had to translate your full story, so that my German followers can grasp what it is about. Thank You! 🙏🏻
https://troet.cafe/@realSiegfried/115756985644957967
Siegfried. (@[email protected])

Angehängt: 1 Video Ich wünsche euch einen friedvollen vierten Advent. Wie er in anderen Teilen Europas gegenwärtig schwer zu erleben ist. Ich liebe dieses Weihnachtslied. Am besten a capella, und wie hier in einem zerbombten Heizkraftwerk in der Ukraine besonders emotional:

troet.cafe - Mastodon
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 21

@realSiegfried

so viel Schönheit und so viel Traurigkeit

Show threadSiegfried.Dec 21
@benroyce Exactly. Wishing Ukraine peace - Russia freedom from this despot.
Show threadGrovewestDec 21
@benroyce I have a friend in Ukraine, a folklorist, who many years ago called me on Christmas and sang a solo version over the phone. Small country with a lot of artistically talented people. The Russian invasion is so perplexing. The Ukrainians desperately just wanted peace, cultural exchange, tourism and trade with everyone - not just the west.
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 22

@Grovewest

it's not perplexing

some people are sadists

the problem is those structures of a given country that reward such people or not

Show threadcake-dukeDec 22
@Grovewest @benroyce You know what Russia DOESN'T want? It doesn't want their neighbors like Georgia, Byelorrus, Azerbaijan etc, to look at Ukraine and go "oh look, cultural exchange with the west turned out great for them".
Show threadcake-dukeDec 22
@Grovewest @benroyce Since Tsarist times, Russia's dilemma has been "How do we import modern technology without importing modern ideas?"
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 22

@oneloop @Grovewest

that's exactly it

the idea of a free, rich ukraine right next door *because* ukraine turned its back on moscow burns like nothing else in the world for russian bigots

Show threadGrovewestDec 22
@benroyce Russia is like a giant run down criminal gang controlled neighborhood and Ukraine is the gentrifying block next to it the gang is worried about.
Show threadWigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚Dec 22

@benroyce ….

👇🏽

„Carol of the bells - the forbidden story“

told as Lego story - watch !

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E41AnAOA-8o

CAROL OF THE BELLS - THE FORBIDDEN STORY | Shchedryk of Mykola Leontovych

YouTube
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 23

@wigbert

woah