Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Feb. 21, 1923 To hear the Ukrainian chorus last night —To write about this great event reminds me of the my inability to right (sic) down some of the impressions I used to get from watching the progress of the weather in the summer of 1915.; It was almost unbelievable that this was only the blending of human voices. I had not sat there long until a deep sense feeling that this was a religious act come over me. The profound seriousness of the singers, the way they handled the simplest themes as tho they were sacred, made me feel as those (sic) the whole thing was a hymn of praise to their creator. Then I felt as tho the whole Ukrainian people were there singing. Great streaks of barren wide-sweeping plains & hills seemed to surround them. With the opening lines of “Evening” I could almost see the twilight coming down; and their (sic) came to me memories of long forgotten Sunday evenings of childhood, when descending night had an element of sadness about it.