Borys Hmyrya. Velykomu Kobzarevi.

He used to say that he first heard the songs based on the poetry of Taras Shevchenko not simply in childhood, but as early as in his cradle – really, he absorbed all that with his mother milk. Borys Hmyrya was the first singer, and till now he remains the only one, who created the whole concert programme of musical compositions based on the poetry of Taras Shevchenko. Now you see in front of you the first compact-disc in Ukraine with the programme devoted to Taras Shevchenko. Besides, practically nobody denies Taras Shevchenko’s genius. And Hmyrya’s, too. The combination of these two people is not a sum, it is an achievement. A square is in general a magical figure. In this particular case, I think, we deal with squaring of circle – in the first approach. Each person is the whole world. But each of these two is a conscious Universe. It is difficult to express all that which appears inside of you when you are listening to this concert. Besides, this is the impression at the level of subconsciousness, this response must be encoded in the blood of every Ukrainian irrespective of his personal musical and poetic liking. That is why everything mentioned above simply is an invitation: look inside of you, feel your roots.

Anton Jozhik Lejba (Hedgehog)