THE COSSACKS SYNOPSIS - PART 1

The Turkish Sultan spread terror throughout 16th century Eastern Europe. He swept east to Asia Minor, north to the Crimea and west as far as the gates of Vienna. Triumphant, he turned his sights towards the Ukrainian Steppes. After decades of victories, his terrifying oppression served only to fuel the Cossacks' burning desire to regain the Steppes for themselves. They united and drove the Turk back to the sea.

'A Raid on the Turk' describes the Cossacks' passage south to Turkey to free their compatriots rotting in prison.

As the Cossacks near the coast, they detect the faint 'Chorus of the Cossack Slaves'. They were freed and returned to their beloved Steppes.

Seething with rage, the Sultan set sail for Ukraine to wreak revenge. After some success, he finally met his match at the Monastery of Pochayiv. 'The Ballad of Pochayiv' describes this battle. The monks implored the Virgin Mary to deliver their church from the evil that was upon them. The Turk was slain and banished from Ukraine forever.

After the victory celebrations, the Cossacks kneel to thank their protector the Virgin Mary, for having delivered them from their foe - 'Protect us, Blessed Virgin'.

The Cossacks were devout Christian. Whilst anyone was free to join the brotherhood, it was obligatory to believe in the Orthodox faith.

This intense belief in the protection of God would unite them with one voice against all their enemies - 'Come, Praise the Lord'.

In 'Remember us in your kingdom, Oh Lord' we are reminded that only the penitent shall be received in Heaven.

With their sins have been absolved, the Cossacks look forward to a new dawn of hope. 'Christ has risen', sung at Easter time, remains the most potent symbol of hope in the Orthodox calendar - the Resurrection.

But, historical events would not allow the Cossacks much time for peaceful reflection. The Russian Bear was already looming at Ukraine's northern border. For centuries, the Cossacks were able to ward off his designs on expansion - until 1709, when Peter the Great staked his claim at the Battle of Poltava and, finally, gained sovereignty over the Ukrainian people. The Cossacks resisted for decades thereafter, until 1775 when Katherine II definitively expelled them from their homes. They were exiled to lands beyond the Danube. Here, they would rally support, regroup their battalions and prepare for a 'victorious' return to their beloved Steppes. However, history would take a different course. The might of the Russian Empire was destined to overwhelm Eastern Europe right up to the present day.

The Cossack dream lived on in the minds and souls of all Ukrainians for centuries to come. Their ardent love for the Steppes would be embodied in numerous songs. 'Beyond the Danube' depicts a conventional love story - a Cossack on horseback, mindful of a young girl's smiles, flirts with her. She bears him a daughter on whom he dotes; '...let my darling daughter slumber - may her dreams be sweet...'

The Steppes were still overrun by the Tatars - vassals who broke away from the Ottoman Empire and prospered primarily in the trade of slaves captured in Ukraine. Year after year, their swift raiding parties swept down on the towns and villages to pillage, kill the old and frail, and drive away thousands of captives from 'the Wild Steppes' to be sold in the Crimean port of Kaffa, a city often referred to by Ukrainians as 'the vampire that drinks the blood of Ukraine'.

The last word in Part I is given to Taras Shevchenko (the Bard of Ukraine). 'The Wandering Minstrel' is held in particular esteem by the Ukrainians. He is regarded as the free spirit of the nation - the soul of the Cossack people - a song traditionally entrusted to the Bass.

Part 2