Announcing Songs of Truth: Music and Song from the Kobzar Tradition of Ukraine, the long-anticipated reissue of the 2014 album by master bandura player Julian Kytasty. Songs of Truth is available for pre-order now, and will be released on CD and digitally on August 1st. Songs of Truth is available for pre-order here.

Julian Kytasty is a Ukrainian American musician celebrated around the world as a master of the bandura. This plucked-string instrument has become a symbol of Ukraine through its association with the deep tradition of the kobzari: blind bards who traveled throughout the Ukrainian countryside until the early 20th century, spreading news and sharing history through their sung stories accompanied on bandura. The singers were historically almost exclusively blind, in part to give those without sight a role of great social significance since other forms of labor were not available to them. Kytasty’s interpretation of the bandura brings expressive clarity and vibrancy to this centuries-old repertoire, skillfully recasting historical epics and sharing timeless philosophical songs, biting satire, and joyful dance tunes.

Songs of Truth is the second release in the Sound Communities recording series, a collaboration between the Centre for Sound Communities at Cape Breton University and Smithsonian Folkways that highlights artists who tell stories of the lands, waters, and peoples of Turtle Island and often focusing on the territories known as Canada.