ILLUSTRATED SHEET MUSIC EDITION “THE MUSICAL TALES OF UKRAINE”
A unique project born out of silence, memory and love for our roots...
How would Ukrainian melodies sound if they were the soundtrack to a film about the past, present, and future of our people?
“The Musical Tales of Ukraine” is a book created with love for musicians, teachers, children, parents
and everyone who appreciates Ukrainian culture.
Music: Mariia Yaremak Illustrations: Alexandra Dikaia Photos: Pavlo Yaremak
Music: Mariia Yaremak
Illustrations: Alexandra Dikaia
Photos: Pavlo Yaremak
The book is already in the printing house, in the final stages of implementation, wait for news from the mail!
ABOUT THE BOOK
"The Musical Tales of Ukraine" is not just a music collection, it is an artistic project that intertwines:
- magical piano music inspired by folklore, legends, ancient melodies and songs;
- illustrations that complement each piece and help you “hear with your eyes,” filling them with symbolism, silence, and light;
- photographs that reveal the places where these pieces were created, recreating the landscape and mood from which this music springs.
This edition is created for those who seek deeper meanings in art, and the combination of
visual and audio elements keeps children and adults engaged and inspired throughout their time with the book,
immersing them in the atmosphere of Ukrainian fantasy.
The book is bilingual in Ukrainian and English, making it an ideal cultural gift both in Ukraine and abroad.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MARIIA YAREMAK
is a composer whose works have been used more than 30 million times on social media.
Her works have been performed at a Royal Gala Evening in London, events related to the
UN, Hollywood, the Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest, and the country's largest festival, Atlas United.
She was nominated by the UN in Ukraine as “Woman of the Year in Music” and is currently studying film composition at one of the world's most prestigious film schools, NFTS>.
She is the author of the music project “Ukrainian Fantasy”.
PAVLO YAREMAK
is a photographer with a deep visual sense of Ukrainian landscape, culture, and emotions.
His works are an attentive and poetic look at life, people, and nature.
He has participated in international photojournalism programs, including the Canon Student Program (top 200 photographers in 2020 and top 100 in 2023),
Life Goes On — a Finnish-Ukrainian art project about the war in Ukraine, and is a scholarship recipient of the British course from the VX Pictures agency (2023).
ALEXANDRA DIKAIA
is a Ukrainian artist and the bestselling author of The Moonmill Tales. She has crafted her own unique aesthetic and a world rich in symbolism, the search for authenticity, and the preservation of cultural heritage. She is the founder of Add Magic, a creative academy offering courses on planning and building imaginative worlds. Alexandra creates art performances in symbolic locations across the UK, including Bath Abbey and St. Pancras Station, and regularly hosts readings of her book and leads workshops for children and adults around the world. She has collaborated with a Hollywood studio and a Norwegian animation company. And sometimes, she enjoys wandering the city in the character of a goose.
MOTIVATION FOR CREATION
Mariia
When I was studying at music school, I was usually given music by Bach, Beethoven,
Chopin, Mozart, and almost nothing Ukrainian to play. When I asked my teacher why this was the case, she said that
there were very few Ukrainian works because our composers had been banned for a long time, and their works had been destroyed and burned...
Even then, I had a desire to restore our cultural history and heritage and create a project to promote them, both in Ukraine and abroad.
That's how “Ukrainian Fantasy” came about, followed by the collection “The Musical Tales of Ukraine”.
Our little dream is for this book to be available to educational institutions in Ukraine ♥
Alexandra
When I was a child learning to play the piano, even the simplest melodies felt like stories — I saw colours, scenes, emotions.
Now it feels important to pass on that sensation: to help others see, behind the black-and-white notes,
a forest filled with mysterious mavkas, girls dancing in a circle to the folk song Podolianochka,
or hands intertwined in the shape of a key for the game Verbova Doshchechka.
Illustration becomes a key to understanding music — and a way to preserve my personal vision of the Ukrainian musical soul.
Each piece of music, to me, is not just a sequence of sounds — it’s a story that unfolds within. I’ve always longed to capture that inner unfolding through images.
The book Musical Tales of Ukraine is filled with symbolic illustrations inspired by Ukrainian culture.
It is not a historical record — it is a deeply personal experience of native melodies, retold through visual language.
Pavlo
We also decided to add photos to the book to convey the geographical and cultural context of the songs. They help you see and feel the world from which this music comes — so that it can be better understood both in Ukraine and abroad.
WHAT THE BOOK LOOKS LIKE
The book contains 20 pieces of varying difficulty, making it suitable for both students
and experienced musicians.
CONTENTS
- Oh, How It Was
- Podolyanochka
- Ivanku
- Kolomyika
- In the Dark Forest
- Mavka
- Chuhayster
- Poterchata
- Perelesnyk
- Legend
- In the Clouds
- In the Cherry Orchard
- Sleep Walks the Land
- The Grey Cat
- Willow Bridge
- Plyve Kacha
- Vershe
- Oh, What a Moonlit Night
- A New Joy Has Come
- Shchedryk (“Carol of the Bells”)
