Res Humanitariae

The article is devoted to an ethnomusicological, musical-textological, and performing analysis of the traditional dance the Hutsulka. The material is an audio recording of an anonymous wedding band from the Galician-Hutsul part of the Ukrainian Carpathians, made in the first half of the 20th century. This recording is included in the album ‘Music of the Ukraine’ released by the studio Folkways Records USA (vinyl, 1951). As the oldest known audio recording of the Hutsulka, the piece ‘Hutsulka and Kozachok Dances’ is characterised by an original interpretation of the genre at the musical form-building and thematic levels. Based on an analysis of the musical form, the melodic scale and the rhythmic structure, typical features of the performance style of the Kosmach-Brustury tradition are revealed. They are especially evident in the playing by the fiddler and fuyarnist. The identity of the fiddler was established hypothetically, by comparing these data with the testimonies of respondents.