Chuchman V. Yevhen Vakhniak creative heritage in Galicia choral tradition.

The thesis is the first scientific research of the creative heritage of Ukrainian choral conductor, pedagogue and composer Yevhen Vakhniak (1912–1998). Ye. Vakhniak way of living and creation are shown in this thesis in a con-tinuous connection with his sociocultural area. We make accent on the fact that life and creation of the artist was based on the beliefs of Christianity as well as on public and ethical and artistic and aesthetical bases of Galicia choral tra-dition. The most important value of the last one consists in the fact that it became basis, and at the same time one of efficient instruments of development of choral culture of the country. It’s ideological and methodical imperatives enabled to keep, develop and assure continuation in generations a number of spiritual and artistic orienting points and national and mental marks. His creative personality developed on the background of fight for national liberation of the beginning of 20th century in the family of priest, after that – in Kolomyia Gymnasium, Lublin Catholic University, Lviv Music Institute named after Mykola Lysenko, in singing environment of Chapel “Trembita”. His longstanding professional creative career of conductor was started in the Chapel “Trembita” and continued with the choir of opera studio and student choir of Lviv State Conservatoire n. a. M. Lysenko, interacademic men choir “Homin”. The most important artistic achievements of the conductor are related to the Lviv Cultural Center of Communication Service Workers’ Chapel which was leaded by him during more than fifty years. His creative personality directly effected the formation of performing style of many choirs and the professional education of several generations of conductors. By the method of typological analysis of the creative personality of Ye. Vakhniak as musical interpreter, conductor, organizer and pedagogue was identified the existential basis of creative life of the artist which became the main formational determinant of his artistic phenomenon as type-creating fact not only in the professional environment of that time, but also in much wider socio-historical context. The creating of proper practical, theoretical, methodological and composite base permitted to treat the conducting and pedagogical activity of Ye. Vakhniak as an individual conducting school. Author of thesis set up his own definitions of the notions “choral tradition” and “conducting school”. In correspondence with this definition, he describes main creative bases of Ye. Vakhniak school. Examination of composer’s creative work, musical and theoretical and performing stylistic analysis of the most significant choral compositions by Ye. Vakhniak shows the large scale and universalism of his creative persona-lity. To estimate the role and value of Ye. Vakhniak creative work in national context, we made a comparison study of his creative heritage with the ground-work of leading masters of Ukrainian conducting and choral art of that time. Practical and methodological patrimony of Ye. Vakhniak school is compared to the groundwork of other conducting schools of Ukraine.