The Bandurist

A bandurist is a person who plays the Ukrainian plucked lute-like, string instrument known as the bandura.  The bandura dates back to the late 500's.  The first I heard of a bandurist was here in Winnipeg, in Assiniboine Park.  In the park, there is a special garden called the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.  The garden allows you to view and enjoy the magnificent, donated, bronze works of master sculptor, Dr. Leo Mol, a local Ukrainian. One of his bronze pieces is called The Blind Bandurist.

From my friend, Vladimyr, I learned that, in the old legends, blind children were taught to play the bandura. The blind musicians were lead from town to town in Russia and Poland where they were greeted, housed, and fed.  The bandurist was a minstrel and he would carry the news with him.  There are stories of impoverished parents blinding their own children so that the child would be taken on as a student of a bandurist and fed.  Thus, there is a note of tragedy and suffering in these old stories.

There are still a few badurists playing today, alone or in choruses, and, if you are interested in hearing their music, simply Google YouTube and bandurists and you will find the necessary links.