ИДЕЯ СВЕТА В ФИЛОСОФИИ ГРИГОРИЯ СКОВОРОДЫ: ДВЕ ЛИТЕРАТУРНО-МУЗЫКАЛЬНЫЕ ВИЗИИ (по произведениях А. Щетинского и Л. Грабовского)

This essay investigates the musical works on the texts by the leading Ukrainian philosopher H. Skovoroda. It is argued that Skovoroda developed specific commandments designed for a spiritual/moral self-improvement. The first commandment relates to a vision of the world order. According to Skovoroda, the human being has two distinct natures: (1) the external body and (2) the internal divine. The manifestation of the latter relates to a meaning of life: to awake the divine light in order “to conquer death”. The second commandment sees “the joy of the heart as the light of God’s love”. The “know thyself” call, indicates the true path of knowledge, because the “inner” human reflects the spark of God. These commandments are utilized in the choral symphony: Know Yourself by A. Szczecinskiy, and the cantata: Temnere Mortem by L. Grabowskiy. The third commandment is “cognation law”. “Cognation” relates to the notion of national identity and the community’s response to it.