This film documents a performance by the choral ensemble Kievan Frescoes at St Wilfrid's Church in York. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) and is credited to them. It is in colour with sound and has been mixed / edited from two camera angles, one at the front of the church and one from an elevated position at the back of the church. The language of the film is English with singing in Ukrainian. For the first two minutes, the film is in darkness and there is a...

This film documents a performance by the choral ensemble Kievan Frescoes at St Wilfrid's Church in York. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) and is credited to them. It is in colour with sound and has been mixed / edited from two camera angles, one at the front of the church and one from an elevated position at the back of the church. The language of the film is English with singing in Ukrainian. For the first two minutes, the film is in darkness and there is a voiceover giving contextual information about the choir. At 2 mins 21 secs, the UVAS logo appears, followed by the flier for Kievan Frescoes and a flier for St Wilfrid's Church. The film begins with internal views of St Wilfrid's church, focusing on the altar and the audience who are taking their seats in the pews. The introduction to the choir which was heard at the very start of the tape is repeated by an unidentified man who stands at the front of the church addressing the audience. He comments on the format of the choir which has fewer high voices than low voices and is uncommon in Western Europe. He gives a brief biography of Mr Bondar the conductor and the repertoire of the choir which is primarily Ukrainian church choral music but has branched out to Russian and Western European church music, and comments that this is their first tour as a complete ensemble. The lights are then dimmed, and the choir come out by candlelight to the sound of bell chimes. The male singers are first followed by the female singers, and the men begin to sing as the remaining women join them, each member of the choir who carries a candle placing it on a candle holder at the front of the church. The male singers are dressed in black tie / dinner jackets, and the women have long, dark dresses adorned with embroidery and a stole. The concert formally begins with the male and female voices singing church choral music by candlelight, conducted by Olexander Bondar. At the end of this first piece, the audience applaud, and the lights are switched back on. The next piece is the Lord's Prayer and is introduced in Ukrainian and English by a female member of the choir and translated by a man who is likely to be a second-generation Ukrainian who acts as an MC. This continues through the performance. At 1 hr 1 ins 31 secs, there is a 15-minute break with an opportunity to purchase cassette recordings. The choir leaves the performance space. The film fades out and begins again after the interval with an introduction by the MC and a solo male performance. The male members of the choir return to the performance space and take their positions at the front of the church, this time wearing vyshyvanky (embroidered shirts). This section focuses on folk / traditional music rather than church music. The women join after several songs by the male singers. The final song is the Ukrainian national anthem. The film fades out at 1 hr 48 mins 51 secs after showing the Kievan Frescoes logo.