The History of Music Pedagogy in Ukraine: the Sofiynist Perspective

Abstract

The article presents a research of modern understanding of the term “sofiynist”, and its features in the development of music and pedagogical idea, as well as education in Ukraine. It has been explored, that in the content of national history of musical pedagogy as meta-history there are sequential invariant structures, spiritual constants, generated by the power of philosophical and artistic idea, which possess such features of sofiynist as spiritual wisdom, and “joyful creativity”. Sofiynist is one of the criteria, by which the value-semantic foundations of the development of musical and pedagogical idea, musical and educational practice in Ukraine are determined. It has been clarified, that the Ukrainian musical folklore belongs to such sequential structures, possessing the features of sofiynist. All the vicissitudes of historical development, national character, evolution of the outlook are reflected in the national epos. Myth, as the primitive timeless form of being, became a cultural form of universal wisdom. It was the result of spiritual practice of the ancient Ukrainians, and embodied ethical and aesthetic side of human being, folk wisdom of many generations. The problem of sofiynist is developed in “Izbornik Svyatoslava” of 1073, works of Ilarion, the Ukrainian philosophers and polemicists, in the writings of figures of Kiev-Mohyla Academy, including P. Mohyla, F. Prokopovych D. Rostovsky, G. Konysky, G. Skovoroda and others. In Kiev-Mohyla Academy there appeared the Ukrainian aesthetic and musical pedagogical idea which proves the ontological connection between music and dialectics, rhetoric, poetry, and school drama. Philosophical and pedagogical understanding of music as an art and its fundamental to modern musical interpretation process. Sofiynist, inherent in spiritual potential was typical of the scholars and intellectuals of that era. Principle of sofiynist of being is the basis of Skovoroda’s “eternal pedagogy”. It enables the achievement of human happiness, harmony in earthly life and links it with sofiynist of being. Skovoroda’s philosophical doctrines, including the basic principles of hermeneutics, are the history of the Ukrainian musical and pedagogical idea, as well as educational practice, appears in close connection with musical spiritual and religious traditions. Spiritual music, including the Ukrainian church singing, which has ancient history has been the content of music education for a long period of time. It accumulated Jewish, Syrian, Greek spiritual, musical traditions, and later underwent influence by the Ukrainian folk melodies, and became a reflection of religious aspirations and feelings of the Ukrainians. Ancient imagery cult system of spiritual chants gradually changes, becomes filled with new humanistic sense, which presents aspirations for joy and festivity (“happy creativity”). Features of sofiynist are inherent to other structures in music and pedagogical history of Ukraine. They provided the spiritual and ideological basis for choral concerts, creative phenomenon of the Ukrainian classicists-composers; filled Przemysl school representatives’ art with inspired content; played a significant role in the development of national musical metastyle in the works of M. Lysenko and his followers.