Ostap Yosypovych Nyzhankivsky ; 24 January 1863 - 22 May 1919) - Ukrainian writer and cleric, a priest of the UGCC, composer, conductor, and public figure.
Life
Ostap Nyzhankivsky born in the village of Mali Didushychi January 24, 1863. He was born in a large family of Greek Catholic priest of Joseph Nyzhankivsky, which was a priest of the Greek Catholic parish in the village Mali Didushychi. Then the family moved to the village Zavadiv.
He studied in the nearby village Duliby and later he studied in Drohobych and Lvivgymnasium. Ostap Nyzhankivsky was expelled from the sixth grade of gymnasium and had to enter military service in the Austrian army in Lviv. Ostap has participated in the company :uk:Академічне братство|“Academic Fraternity”, where he met Ivan Franko and with the composer, conductor and public figure Anatole Vakhnianyn.
The Lviv gymnasium Nyzhankivsky graduated in 1888. Later he studied and graduated from the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv.
Ostap Nyzhankivsky got married after ordination in 1892 with the Olena Bachynska, what was the daughter of Galician composer Hilary Bachynsky.
The first parish Ostap Nyzhankivsky received in the Berezhany. 1900 - moved to Stryi. The first parish he had in the village Duliby, later in the village Zavadiv. The first cooperative dairy and the Provincial Home and Dairy Union in Stryi has founded in 1907 Ostap Nyzhankivsky.
The Polish authorities May 22, 1919 without trial on the outskirts city Stryi was shot Ostap Nyzhankivsky. When Ostap Nyzhankivsky was shot, Poles came to the house of Nyzhankivsky in the village Zavadiv and took all the cattle, poultry, grains. Polish soldiers took off shoes of the murdered priest, took off a gold wedding ring, took the clock.
He was buried in the city Stryi at the cemetery in the family tomb together with his wife Elena Nyzhankivsky.
Composer and musical activities
Ostap Nyzhankivsky graduated with honors from the Prague Conservatory in 1896. He dedicated much of his energy to developing musical life in Galicia. He founded the musicpublishing house Muzykalna Biblioteka and compiled Ukraïns’ko-rus’kyi spivanyk. Ostap helped popularise the piano in Western Ukraine, particularly as a solo instrument, but also as an accompanist to Ukrainian Art Song. His works for choir ‘Hulialy’ and ‘Z Okrushkiv’ became very popular. He also wrote art songs for solo voice with piano accompaniment, including ‘Mynuly lita molodii’ ; arrangements of folk songs for solo voice or choir; and Vitrohony, a cycle of kolomyika melodies for piano. Ostap Nyzhankivskyi wrote the carols "God Is Born", "Heaven and earth", "News in Bethlehem" and others...
