Sopilka

Ukrainian Chromatic Recorder

The music of Ukraine features many distinctive instruments, among them the  bandura, kobza, torban, and sopilka. In its most sophisticated form, the sopilka (сопілка) is a fully chromatic internal duct flute. Like the recorder, it descends from the diatonic six-holed pipe — but along a separate and far more recent branch of that family tree. Where the recorder places holes for the thumb and three fingers of the upper hand and all four fingers of the lower hand, the chromatic sopilka has a hole for every one of the player’s ten digits, including a thumb hole for each hand. Furthermore, uncovering successive tone holes on the sopilka raises the pitch by a semitone (see Fingering Chart, below). In this it differs markedly from both the recorder and the six-holed denchivka. The result is a unique instrument that is not only fully chromatic but remarkably expressive and capable of astonishing speed. Skilled players can even mimic sounds from nature — birdsong, insects, the wind.

Modern tenor sopilka, front
Modern tenor sopilka, rear

From Shepherd’s Pipe to Chromatic Sopilka

The sopilka’s ancestor, the five- or six-holed denchivka (денцівка), was a diatonic instrument with a range of roughly two octaves. It dates back at least to the Princely era of the Kyivan Rus and has often been said to appear in an 11th-century fresco in Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral. Curiously, this claim seems to be drawing a long bow: the fresco in question, in the present entrance to the South Tower, depicts a pipe organ, an ambiguous cylindrical wind instrument, cymbals, two ambiguous narrowly conical wind instruments (possibly either reed or lip-reed), a lute, and a quadrangular harp. The cylindrical instrument may represent an end-blown flute played right hand uppermost, but it could as easily be interpreted as a cross-blown flute with hand positions reversed due to the artist’s unfamiliarity with that instrument.

The frescos of both North and South towers are devoted to an important event in the life of the Kievan Rus in the mid-10th century — the meeting of Princess Olga, great-grandmother of Yaroslav the Wise, and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, which took place in Constantinople.

In folk tradition the denchivka was the instrument of shepherds, and a fixture of trio ensembles in village ensembles known as troista musyka (три музики), and wedding bands.

Folk Music Concert, Kyiv 1926

With the nationalist cultural revival of the 20th century the denchivka, like other folk instruments, became the subject of serious experimentation. Instrument makers Ivan Mykhailovych Sklyar, Yevhen Bobrovnykov, and Vasyl Zuliak worked to improve its intonation, tonal stability, volume, and range. The decisive breakthrough came in 1967, when instrument maker Dmytro Florovych Demenchuk (1942–2010) devised the ten-hole chromatic fingering system that defines the modern sopilka. Serial production of the chromatic soprano sopilka soon began at the Melnytsia-Podilska experimental workshops established by Zuliak.

The new chromatic fingering has since been extended across a novel family of instruments: piccolo (F5, equivalent to a sopranino recorder), soprano(C5, equivalent to a soprano recorder), alto (G4 and F4), and tenor (C4). Sopilkas today are made from wood, metal, plastic, and ebonite.

The modern sopilka is heard most often standing in for its ancestors, in folkloric ensembles that recreate the traditional music of western Ukraine’s sub-ethnic groups — most notably the Hutsuls of the Carpathian Mountains.

Ukrainian Medley, featuring Maksim Popichuk (sopilka, ocarina, panpipe)

Bukovinian Folk Melodies & Dance, featuring Maksim Popichuk (sopilka)

The sopilka has found a place in Klezmer music, too.

S’em Sorok, a Jewish song about a train from Odessa due at seven forty, but which arrives much later when “the flame of Odessa is on fire”. Played by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra (Toronto, Canada), a Balkan-Klezmer-Gypsy-Party-Punk-Super Band, with Mike Romanik playing sopilka

Popular bands have embraced it too. Among the first was the folk-inspired vocal and instrumental ensemble Kobza, which toured widely across the former Soviet Union and abroad. Kazka, formed in 2017, employs sopilka player Dmytro Mazuriak in electro-folk hits like “Plakala” (2018), blending its pastoral tones with pop rhythms to achieve international acclaim. More recently the sopilka has appeared in the music of Eurovision 2004 winner Ruslana (Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko), folk-rock band Haydamaky, the Ukrainian-Canadian speed-folk band Kubasonics, electro-folk act ONUKA,  and other contemporary groups drawing on Ukrainian themes.

The sopilka featured in the music of Eurovision 2004 winner, the mononymous Ruslana (band led by Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko), folk-rock band Haydamaky, Ukrainian-Canadian speed-folk band Kubasonics, electro-folk band ONUKA, and other contemporary groups which explore Ukrainian themes.

The 2022 Eurovision contest in Turin was won by the Ukraine Kalush Orchestra whose performance of Stefania incorporated traditional folk instruments, including the telenka (an overtone flute played with one hand controlling its open end) and the beat-boxing tenor sopilka player Vitali Duzhik.

In a sense, the sopilka has evolved from a folk instrument to become something of a national symbol, nowhere better demonstrated than by the leader of the band KoraLLi, Myshko Adamchak, and his Rock Sopilkar project. Myshko has become a celebrity of late for his solo sopilka performances on the Ukraine front where he is currently doing military duty as an ambulance paramedic.

Arkan, a traditional Hutsul circle dance performed by Myshko Adamchak (sopilka) with the band KoraLLi and Orchestra.

Into the Concert Hall

The modern chromatic sopilka was first championed as an instrument worthy of serious academic study by composer, teacher, accordionist and sopilka player Myroslav Korchynsky (1941–2021) who established the Lviv School of Professional Sopilka Performance at the Mykola Lysenko National Music Academy. Largely as a result of Korchinsky’s efforts, the sopilka is increasingly heard in performances of renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary music (much of it familiar to recorder players) performed by highly accomplished players, most notably his daughter, Bozhena Korchynska. There are many videos featuring such playing on YouTube, amongst them the following:

Ciaccona by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620–1680), performed in the Organ Hall, Lviv by Bozhena Korchynska (sopilka) and Berhard Hofstötter (lute).

Trio-sonata by Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński
(fl. 1692–1713), performed by Bozhena Korchynska (sopilka),  
Radosław Kamieniarz (violin) and Irmina Obońska (organ ).

Concerto in A minor (originally for oboe) by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), RV 461, performed by Bozhena Gamar (sopilka) and Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra of the Vasyl Barvinsky Music College, Drohobych, conducted by Roman Bagriy

Fantasie, Op. 37 by Ernest Krähmer (1795–1837), performed in Katowice (2015) by Bozhena Korchynska (sopilka) and Marek Toporowski (piano). Originally for the csakan (keyed recorder).

Toccata: Lullaby for a Colibri (hummingbird) by Markus
Zahnhausen, performed by Bozhena Korchynska (sopilka)

Refining the Instrument

Bozhena Korchynska has also driven experimental redesigns of the sopilka, working with fellow Ukrainian instrument maker Jewgenij (Eugene) Ilarionov to better meet the demands of professional performance: volume across all registers, timbre, responsiveness, expressiveness, stable intonation even under strong air pressure, range, and the finish, durability, and appearance of materials.

Modern chromatic soprano and alto sopilkas by Jewgenij (Eugene) Ilarionov (2003)

The Kortschynska / Ilarionov redesign corrected the instrument’s scale, its internal bore profile, and the shape of its window and labium. Applied to the alto sopilka, the changes produced a more responsive instrument with a steadier lower register, greater dynamic range, and a timbre rich in overtones — especially in the lower register. The result is also, easier on the eye and more comfortable to hold.

Concerto for flute, strings & bc., by Giovanni Battista. Ferrandini (1710–1791), performed by Olga Milosta (sopilka), Solomiya Korchynska (piano)

Building on these developments, the Ukrainian maker Acropolis introduced its “Colibri” line of soprano, alto, and tenor sopilkas, incorporating structural changes proposed by the company’s project manager, Olga Milosta, drawing on her work and study with Ilarionov.

As with recorders, sopilkas of different sizes can be played together as a consort. Myroslav Korchynsky founded the first professional sopilka ensemble, Dudalis, in 1980; now in its fifth generation of members, it continues to perform as Quartet Dudalis. The bass chromatic sopilka (in F3), shown held by Korchynsky himself in surviving photographs, was built at his initiative in 1990 by instrument maker Petro Yevtropovich Malynovsky in Kyiv.

Take Five! by Paul Desmond (arr. Andrij Jackiv) performed by Dudalis, 2002

Chromatica, presented by Quartet Dudalis, 2021

Instruments larger than the tenor remain neither standardized nor in serial production — with one extraordinary exception. The Folklore Orchestra of the Ukrainian Society of the Blind, founded in Kamianets-Podilskyi in 1964 by the blind musician Borys Gulashevsky, commissioned a full family of keyed bass sopilkas from Gulashevsky and fellow musician Peter Tsinkalov: a bass in G3 (98 cm), a sub-bass in C3 (1.44 m), a contrabass in G2 (1.87 m), a sub-contrabass in C2 (2.61 m), and an octobass in E1 (2.95 m). Two sets were made — one taken by Gulashevsky to Russia, the other hopefully still in Kamianets, where it belongs. Modest in range but enormous in stature, these instruments give the orchestra — really more a sopilka band, or an extended consort — a depth of sound found nowhere else in the tradition.

Valentin Yasinsky playing the mighty sub-contrabass sopilka

The Folklore Orchestra of the Ukrainian Society of the Blind performs in Melnytsia

Fingering Chart

Sopilka Makers

  • Acropolis (Lviv): sopilkas in sopranino (piccolo), soprano, alto, and tenor sizes in three series: Student (sSAT), Historical (SAT), and Colibri (SAT). 
  • Jewgenij Ilarianov: soprano and alto sopilkas after those of  Dmitro Demintchuk, and after designs made in colloboration with performer Bozhena Korchynska.
  • MB Instruments / Mark Bzowski (Poland): soprano, alto, tenor and bass sizes.
  • Yaroslav Loshak: sopranino, soprano, alto and tenor sopilkas after his own designs.

Makers of traditional six-holed pipes (denchivka) include Dmytro Bereziuk,  a master of folk instruments from  Lutsk and Polissia (Drevnytska, 2024). See https://retradycja.eu/en/tworca/dmytro-bereziuk/

References

  • Дверій оман Є. [Dverij, Roman Y.] 2008. Школа гри на хроматичніу сопілці. [Method for Playing the Chromatic Sopilka]. Parts 1–3. Centre for Creativity of Children and Youth of Galicia, Lviv. Part 2 is available online at  https://dokumen.tips/documents/dverij-sopilka-shkola-gry-chast-2.html Parts of this publication were published in the form of lessons in the magazine «Україна» [Ukraine] (1984–1985), and the newspaper «Зірка» [Star] (1987–1989), which greatly contributed to the spread of the use of the sopilka among a large circle of devotees of Ukrainian folk music.
  • Drevnytska, Alina. 2024. Hidden sounds of Ukraine: How a Ukrainian artisan is reviving traditional folk instrument making. Solutions 21: 37 31, Aug 2024. https://rubryka.com/en/article/muzyka-v-yakij-zahovane-zvuchannya-ukrayiny/
  • Горбуленко Віталій [Gorbulenko, Vitali]. 2016. Сопілка більша за сопілкаря [A sopilka bigger than its player]. «Газета Подолянин» [Podolyanin Gazette], 1 February 2016.  http://podolyanin.com.ua/culture/10544/
  • Hvozd, Yurii. 2025. Сопілковий репертуар в Україні середини ХХ – першої чверті ХХІ століть: особливості розвитку та функціонування [Sopilka Repertoire in Ukraine Mid-XX – First Quarter of XXI Century: Features of Development and Functioning.] Вісник Національної академії керівних кадрів культури і мистецтв [Bulletin of the National Academy of Culture and Arts Management 4 (2024) Section Musical Art]. DOI:10.32461/2226-3209.4.2024.322914
  • Hvozd, Yurii. 2025. Sopilka. Grokipedia. https://grokipedia.com/page/Sopilka
  • Корчинська Божена [Korchynska, Bozhena]. 2021. Пастушка у двірцевих шатах. Історія професійного сопілкового виконавства. [A Shepherdess in Royal Robes: A History of Professional Sopilka Playing.] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jrKRhaQoqU
  • Korchynska, Bozhena. 2016. Ukrainian Chromatic Recorder. YouTube:  https://youtu.be/b30ApRaqJ0Q
  • Корчинська-Яскевич Божена Мирославівна [Korchinska-Yaskovich, Bozhena Myroslavivna]. 2017. Витоки і становлення професійної сопілкової культури в просторі українського інструменталізму [Origins and Formation of Professional Sopilka Culture in the Context of Ukrainian Instrumentalism]. Ph.D. dissertation. Lviv: National Music Academy M. Lysenko. УДК 78.481.  https://lnma.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/diss_korchynska.pdf.
  • Корчинська Божена [Korchynska, Bozhena]. 2023. Історія хроматичної поздовжньої флейти/сопілки. [History of the Chromatic Vertical Flute/Sopilka.] YouTube: https://youtu.be/xTXugxs-rLQ
  • Korchynska, Bozhena. 2024. Die ukrainische chromatische Blockflöte (Sopilka), Konstruktion von Dmytro Demintschuk: ein neues Phänomen an der Schnittstelle von ethnischer und professioneller Musikkultur [The Ukrainian Chromatic Recorder (sopilka) Constructed by Dmytro Demintchuk: a new phenomenon at the intersection of ethnic and professional musical culture]. Tibia: Fachartikel 2523. https://www.moeck.com/en/tibia/tibia-online/article?tibiaarticle=2523&cHash=c01c2a2cdae967656365754294aee042
  • Libin, Laurence (ed.) 2014. Sopilka. In: The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 4. 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York. Page 557f.
  • Лічкевич Юлія [Lichkevich, Julia]. 2020. Єдиний в Україні оркестр сліпих сопілкарів діє в Кам’янці-Подільському [The only orchestra of blind pipers in Ukraine operates in Kamianets-Podilskyi] «Край Кам’янецький» [Krai Kamianetskyi]. Published 4 March 2020. http://kray-kp.org.ua/kultura/iedynyi-v-ukraini-orkestr-slipykh-sopilkariv-diie-v-kamiantsi-podilskomu.html
  • Struk, Danylo Husar (ed.) 1993. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 5. University of Toronto Press.
  • Quartet “Dudalis”. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UkrainianRecorderQuartetDudalis/photos
  • St Sophia Cathedral. s.dat. Towers. http://sofiyskiy-sobor.polnaya.info/en/towers_st_sophia_cathedral.shtml
  • Wikipedia. 2022. Kobza (band). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobza_(band)
  • Wikipedia. 2021. Sopilka.  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopilka
  • Wikipedia. 2022. The Lemon Bucket Orkestra.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lemon_Bucket_Orkestra
  • YouTube 2017–. Ukraine TV (UATV) Channel (English). National Musical Instruments. Posted 8 April 2017.  https://youtu.be/5YLgIzbahYE
  • YouTube 2011–. Bozhena Korchynska’s Channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/BoshenaKorchynska
  • YouTube 2021–. Maksim Popichuk’s Channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/MaksimPopichuk
  • YouTube. 2013–. Суспільне Хмельницький [Melnytsia Society (Channel)]. Єдиний в Україні оркестр сліпих сопілкарів діє на Хмельниччині [The only orchestra of blind pipers in Ukraine performs in Melnytsia]. Posted 2 March 2020. https://youtu.be/sKyjZRqooI4

Little Solomia from Dnipro plays her ‘sopilka’ to raise money to support the brave defenders of Ukraine

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2026. Recorder Home Page: Sopilka. Last accessed 23 July 2026. https://recorderhomepage.net/sopilka/