Dear Reader,

We are honored to present the reissue of an extraordinary, special, and epoch-making book. It chronicles an event of global significance that cannot be overstated. This is a vivid account of the triumphant tour of the Ukrainian Republican Chapel, led by conductor Oleksandr Koshytsia, in Western Europe, North and South America between 1919 and 1924.

Originally published in 1929 in Paris, this book remains just as relevant today. It is simply titled: “Ukrainian Song Abroad. The World Concert Tour of the Ukrainian National Choir conducted by Oleksandr A. Koshytsia.” The book contains several hundred unique reviews from the European and American press, letters from prominent political and cultural figures offering feedback on Ukraine and Ukrainian culture, fragments of travel diaries from tour participants, correspondence between Symon Petliura and Oleksandr Koshytsia, and government documents detailing the cultural policy of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Over five hundred archival documents are published, demonstrating Ukraine's long tradition of cultural diplomacy and the ability of Ukrainian culture to resonate worldwide.

The choir’s successful tour over several years was impressive. As a result, not only European composers, music critics, and major European publications but also heads of European states began discussing Ukraine and its high culture. The enthusiastic responses of royalty, politicians, presidents, and renowned cultural and scientific figures worldwide testify to this success. The Chapel achieved not only a cultural mission but also a political one, with its slogan, "To conduct national Ukrainian propaganda with the help of song", being entirely fulfilled.

The Chapel’s repertoire focused on folklore to showcase the deep roots of Ukrainian culture, including carols, shchedrivkas, cantos, dumas, and religious works. Folk songs were translated for foreign audiences or explained before the concert to highlight Ukrainian history, distinct from Russia and closer to European culture. It was during this tour that Mykola Leontovych's Shchedryk became internationally recognized.

This concert tour took place in early 1919, a tragic and bloody year for our people. Amidst Ukraine's fight for survival, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army and a member of the Ukrainian People's Republic Directorate, Symon Petliura, initiated the creation of the Ukrainian Republican Choir and sent it abroad to present Ukrainian songs, drawing attention to the unique character of the Ukrainian people. This was a special political mission.

According to Petliura's plan, the new representative cultural institution was to break the Russian information blockade in Europe and demonstrate to the world the self-sufficient power of Ukrainian culture — and thus the political maturity of the Ukrainian people to have their own state, independent from Russia. Ukrainian singers were meant to loudly proclaim that Ukraine is not Russia, nor its colony, but a separate, self-sufficient cultural nation with the right to political existence and statehood.

The freedom-loving Ukrainian people have been fighting for their freedom for centuries, with song at the forefront. Ukrainians are a singing people, born, falling in love, fighting, living, and dying with song. A folk Ukrainian song—cheerful, wistful, dreamy, and fiery—cannot be described, only heard live. And Oleksandr Koshytsia's Chapel performed it in seventeen countries, creating a lasting legacy that endures to this day.

A hundred years have passed, yet the national interests of Ukraine continue to be undermined in Europe by Russian propaganda, with Ukrainian culture often misattributed to "Greater Russia." Meanwhile, our army is fiercely fighting for independence. The cultural front in this hybrid war opened then, with the Ukrainian Republican Chapel as a key player in the political struggle where official diplomacy and military action failed.

History tends to repeat itself. Just as then, the existence of the Ukrainian state largely depends on European support and understanding of the true nature of events in Ukraine by political, media, and cultural elites there. It also depends on their recognition of the cultural heritage Ukrainians possess as an integral part of Europe.

For us, the cultural front remains active, and the work of Oleksandr Koshytsia and his chapel inspires others to continue the noble cause of reviving people’s diplomacy through cultural and educational efforts to inform the world about the truth of the Independent Ukrainian State, its history, culture, and people.

This is why the Ukrainian women's movement, Mothers of the World Against War and Terrorism, has joined in the effort to repeat Oleksandr Koshytsia’s cultural and educational feat. By republishing this remarkable book, we aim to revive public diplomacy and continue the struggle for Ukraine’s freedom and independence.

We hope that this book will resonate with everyone who cares about Ukraine's fate, its people, and its culture. It will reveal a hidden layer of our history and identity while offering insight into the work of the women's movement, continuing the Ukrainian struggle for FREEDOM and INDEPENDENCE from the "Russian world," which brings destruction and war—destroying Ukraine both then and now. We Ukrainians cannot understand WHY UKRAINE IS BEING DESTROYED? WILL EUROPE PROTECT US? WILL AMERICA SAVE US?