Borys Hmyrya. Fenomenal'ne mystetstvo. (Fenomenal art)

You are holding in your hands one of the six discs, presented by us, with the recordings of Borys Hmyrya’s singing. In his lifetime, in 1962, his name entered the International Encyclopaedia “Who is who?”, in 1992 it entered the List of the most glorious Ukrainians (one hundred people) who became famous within one thousand years of the Ukrainian history. It sounds great, but still it is a paper. It is difficult for me even to imagine the number of hearts in which his name is written with the letters of soul. It was not important whether those people who listened to his singing knew Ukrainian. Because his voice penetrates inside, wrap you up, coddles, excites, purifies you. I am sure that those who listen to the singing of this man, learn the meaning of the word “catharsis” from their own experience. This disc is a certain illustration of the variety of his creative activity, of his capability to take the high art behind political and geographic bounds. Here you can find Ukrainian folk songs, Russian romances and opera arias. Even translations from the world classics – for example, “Elegy” by J. Masne translated, be the way, by Borys Hmyrya himself. All that is alive without exception – alive, magic, blazing. He simply fascinates and captivates you. May be, it is possible to finish with one word – the Artist...

Anton Jozhik Leyba (Hedgehog)