1. "ANTICIPATION" for strings
"ОЧІКУВАННЯ" (“Anticipation”) for orchestra strings is one of Ksenia's first music compositions that was performed in concert and recorded professionally. She was 12 when she created it.
This piece has an epigraph - the following lines of her
favorite modern Ukrainian poet, Ivan Malkovych:
Затінок власних дерев
вічно з собою ми носим —
й віримо, що не помрем:
просто прокинемось — осінь.
English translation:
We carry the shadows of our own trees
with us in eternity,
and we believe we won’t die:
we will simply wake up
and realize that it’s autumn.
Recording taken from a live concert performance in lviv philharmonic hall. Conductor: Bohdan Dashak.
2. "AD FONTES" for piano
"Ad Fontes" is a cycle of piano miniatures inspired by Ukrainian folk songs. It was premiered in April 2022 in Lviv Organ Hall as a part of the project "Ukrainian Live Classic.” listeners whose discovery of Ukrainian folk culture starts with this piece, are invited to listen to it as a way of turning to the roots (Ad FONTES) and rethinking heritage.
those who are familiar with Ukrainian folk music will recognize some brief glimpses of the melodies of the traditional Hutsulian "Arkan" dance, the Lemko song "Zrodylysia terky,” and the famous Ukrainian folk song "Oj chyj to kin' stojit'" that Ksenia Stetsenko honors in the piece through her own style using modern techniques.
Studio recording of Ksenia Stetsenko.
3. "THE THOUGHT OF HOME" for two violins
February 24th, 2022, is the day when Ksenia's life and music were suddenly divided into “before” and “after.”
"ДУМА ПРО ДІМ” (“The Thought of Home”) for two violins is her emotional reflection on the war that has started in her home country, Ukraine. It is a reminder that the war is ongoing, and freedom is not free.
The composer shares: "Feeling homeless and homesick, I made a rough recording of this piece myself, using just a laptop and a violin that I could take with me while fleeing my country".
4. "FLÜCHTLINGESDODEKAPHONIE NO.24"
for two clarinets
Translated from German, this piece is titled “Refugee Dodecaphony.” The number 24 is not accidental, as the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24th. “24” is also significant because “The Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals” (which has come to be known by refugees as simply “The 24th Paragraph”), regulates policy regarding temporarily displaced persons from Ukraine in Germany – the country where the composer found shelter
when writing the piece.
Additionally, the title of the miniature has 24 letters, and the music itself consists of 24 measures: 24 measures of emotional experiences, going in circles amidst total uncertainty and wandering the world in search of home. Being a refugee means standing on unstable ground; Losing your past life on one hand, and having nothing yet solidified in the new life on the other. Extreme insecurity and fragility is represented through the
12-tone system. A flicker of hopeful homecoming is expressed through the harmonious resolution of the conclusion.
Premiere recording performed by Pavlo Burdeinyi and Oleksandr Nesterov at Lviv Organ Hall.
5. "I AM SO SMALL" for mixed choir
Rumi’s texts speak directly to hearts across the globe and throughout the centuries. This poem used by Ksenia Stetsenko in her a cappella choral composition is about “enormous things” that can be seen even with our “small eyes.” Her piece is a musical reflection on our scale.
We are so tiny in this endless Universe, yet we all are an important part of the Whole, being able to carry the Love without scale within us...
This piece is a recent idea, but the composer is happy to share a draft self-recording of her work in progress.
Ksenia also shares the text of Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī she used in this composition:
“I am so small I can barely be seen.
How can this great love be inside me?
Look at your eyes. They are small,
but they see enormous things.”
6. "NUCLE-AR-T" for piano
“Nucle-ar-t” is a piece of musical art created as the composer’s personal response to one of the biggest nuclear threats in Europe:
the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia (with 4 nuclear power plants, which are 4 times bigger than Chornobyl) is controlled and destabilized by the Russian army, and it is put under risk of exploding at any moment. This serialism work's name links to three words - nuclear, art, and artillery - that reveal the main
mood of this piano piece.
recording from premiere at "Contrasts" international festival of modern music by Hlib Fareniuk.
7. "ON THE PULSE" for three saxophones
“On the Pulse” for three saxophones shares the feelings that families of those who are in war zones anywhere in this world - especially soldiers, doctors, and volunteers - experience while trying to keep a “finger on the pulse” of what is going on
when the news is always delayed and the connection is lost.
Studio Recording Featuring Guy Lavoi, Antonin Bourgault, and Thomas Gauthier-Land is made in Quebec, Canada.
8. "PENITANTIAL PRAYER" for mixed choir
“ПОКАЯННА МОЛИТВА” (“Penitential Prayer”) for mixed choir was composed on the Ukrainian Orthodox text from the Church’s Lenten season, and is aimed to immerse listeners in their own souls and thoughts about living life while being true to ourselves and aligned with God, Universe, Creator…
or Whatever we call the Source of Love.
Recording of world premiere in Edmonton, Canada.
Kapella Kyrie conducted by dr. melanie Turgeon.
9. "LAULASMAA" for piano
This piano piece was created after Ksenia Stetsenko's trip to Estonia and a very deep personal experience of spending time with Arvo Pärt in his center in Laulasmaa. “Laulasmaa” means “the land that sings.” There is nothing more to comment, therefore Ksenia is letting the music express her gratitude and inspiration from this shared time together with Arvo among his scores and library,
surrounded by the forest of pine trees next to the Baltic Sea.
Studio recording performed by the author in Lviv, Ukraine.
