Bells and birds

[serenissima]

I was looking for Christmas music on Amazon and noticed the Russian-sounding name of the composer of "Carol of the Bells," Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych. I don't know of many carols from Russia (or Ukraine, as it turns out). So I Googled for him, and I found something interesting.

'Carol of the Bells' wasn't originally a Christmas song
Rice University anthropology student is studying the song's geneaology

Although "Carol of the Bells" has become a popular tune during the holidays, the original lyrics had nothing to do with Christmas. The song with a haunting four-note melody was originally a Ukranian folk song written as a "winter well-wishing song," said Anthony Potoczniak, a Rice University anthropology graduate student who is studying the song's history.

Written in 1916 by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich and titled "Shchedryk," the song tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have. The song's title is derived from the Ukrainian word "shchedryj," which means "bountiful."

The article is from 2004, and it goes on.

There's also a Wikipedia article on it, with a somewhat more technical take, and the Ukrainian lyrics.

EDIT: I have changed the link from advertisement-filled Science Blog to Rice News, which looks to be the original source of the article.