'Music matters': Vivere String Quartet on playing through fear

As a string quartet from Ukraine, we are often asked about the war. Although we wanted our latest album, Prayer for Ukraine, to speak without words, we have chosen to share our thoughts because we feel Ukrainian culture – and our experience as Ukrainian musicians – might benefit others.

Every musician experiences doubt. When the war started, our doubts intensified. How could we play with bombs flying everywhere? We could only think of how to survive today. So, we hid our instruments, and did what seemed useful, like helping to build defenses.

But we returned to music because we realized this was the role we were given, and it was important. We saw that music gave joy and renewal, to ourselves as well as others. In Ukraine, it is hard to even complete a concert, because a bomb alert often sounds, and everyone must evacuate. The fastest rocket from Russia can reach Lviv in 5.5 minutes so we never know how much time we have. But people continue to come to concerts because it is fundamental to their lives. Music matters.

'From the first note to the last, we poured the entirety of our souls into this album' (Image courtesy of Vivere String Quartet)

‘Vivere’ means ‘to live’. For us, this means to live in music, with music, in everything we are doing, to live as ourselves. Music is integral to Ukrainian life. In music, we can express what we cannot say in words, and before Ukraine gained independence we did not have the freedom to speak. Ukrainian music contains much sorrow, but also joy – we have a type of song called zhartivlyvi, which is meant to make you laugh. In our album, the third movement of Barvinsky’s String Quartet is sorrowful, but the fourth movement is crazy and comical, reflecting how we as Ukrainians have persevered through every adversity because we learned to stay connected to joy and hope.

To record this album, we had to travel by bus to Poland to fly to the US because Ukraine’s civilian airspace is closed. This journey was uneasy and strenuous. It was unknown how safe it would be, as transportation systems including bus and train stations are targeted by rocket attacks, and bombs reach even into Poland. The borders are clogged, and it can take 10 hours to cross, often more. We had to do this trip twice, first to get a visa, then to fly to the US. Then we had to return the same way.

The recording sessions were challenging. In any circumstance, recording eight hours every day makes it hard to stay connected to the feeling of the music, but we were also getting text messages between sessions about bombings in our town. Our mission to communicate our feelings, and those of the composers and our entire nation – our sorrow and pain, but also our joy, love and determination – meant we had to put aside our fears and self-doubt, tap into our strength, and play.

From the first note to the last, we poured the entirety of our souls into this album. Through Maria’s City, a work written by Zoltan Almashi in a bomb shelter in Kyiv about the devastation of Mariupol from the Russian invasion, we felt we were expressing the grief of all Ukrainians. Barvinksy’s String Quartet and Almashi’s Carpathian Song paint the beauty of the Ukrainian landscape and folk traditions, while To Mary – by Hanna Havrylets, who died on the third day of the Russian invasion due to lack of medical care – is like a prayer overflowing with emotion. When bombs are exploding, we hold our breath and pray.

Music is what makes ours a culture of joy and hope, of love and solidarity that allows us to support each other, of strength that will never give up. This resilience and connection to life and beauty sustain us in our integrity and commitment to freedom. We imagine such values could uplift the whole world.

'In music, we can express what we cannot say in words, and before Ukraine gained independence we did not have the freedom to speak' (Image courtesy of Vivere String Quartet)

Phenotypic Recordings is a new record label whose mission includes bringing to light music from extraordinary composers and musicians, particularly those highlighting important issues facing the world today. Prayer for Ukraine exemplifies the label's ‘Music with a Mission’ belief. Vivere has decided to donate all proceeds from this album to Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a non-profit charity supporting medical rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers, to reflect their gratitude to Ukrainian freedom fighters who are defending their country.