Stepan Pasiuha

• Name — Stepan Pasiuha • Born — 11 December 1862 • Birthplace — Velyka Pysarivka, Kharkov Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) • Died — 1933 • Occupation — * Kobzar • Bandurist • Genre — Folk • Instrument — Bandura • Illustration — Portrait of Stepan Pasiuha by Opanas Slastion, 1910 Stepan Artemovych Pasiuha (11 December 18621933) was a Ukrainian kobzar.

Stepan Pasiuha was born in the town Velyka Pysarivka, Bohodukhiv County, in the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). He learned to play the bandura from Dmytro Trochenko. He had seven dumy (sung epic poems) in his repertoire: • 1. Marusia Bohuslavka • 2. The Widow and Her Three Sons • 3. The Sister and Brother • 4. Oleksiy Popovych • 5. Captives lament • 6. Ivan Konovchenko, the Widow's Son • 7. The Escape of the Three Brothers from Oziv The first three dumy were recorded on a phonograph by Opanas Slastion and sent to Filaret Kolessa in Lviv. Filaret Kolessa wrote that: "In his recitations, sung with a nice baritone, we hear the importance of the recitative above the melody. The singing and playing of Stepan Pasiuha makes a nice artistic impression." Yehor Movchan was a student of Pasiuha, and highly praised him as a teacher of singing and playing, and also as a kobzar who demonstrated great artistry in his performance of dumy. He often spoke: "there probably was never such a kobzar like Pasiuha and in the future there never will be." In 1915, Pasiuha was arrested and spent time incarcerated. From graphic sources his bandura had: • Portrait 1 – 4 basses and 14 treble strings (16 pegs) • Portrait 2 – 6 basses and 14 treble strings