Music of the Ukraine album art
This compilation of Ukrainian folk music was first published in the Ethnic Folkways Library in 1950 as EFL 1301, with a red leather-like cover. There’s also a version with catalog number P 443 featuring Lydian. It’s not clear when the shown cover design (FE 4443) was introduced – Discogs says in 1951, but a date from the late 1950s seems more likely.
The cover typography reminded me how close Venus is to Akzidenz-Grotesk, certainly when comparing the uppercase of Venus Bold to that of AG Medium, and as long as neither G, J, or Q are present. One distinguishing feature is Venus’s higher waistline (in E, F). Another, less obvious one is the spine of S.
Designer Ronald Clyne shows the title in two justified lines that frame the picture. There were at least two color variants: yellow and black (which I believe to be the original one), and red and black.
The cover photograph by Sovfoto depicting a folk dance is captioned with “Sunday in the Valyatino village”. Veliatynо (Ukrainian: Велятино) is located in the Zakarpattia Oblast in the country’s far west, bordering upon Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
From Folkways Records:
Music of the Ukraine includes traditional Ukrainian instruments such as the duda (bagpipe) and dances such as the Huculka – “a rapid dance played on mandolin-like instruments (balalaikas) and a home-made fiddle” (Henry Cowell). Often tracks demonstrate a confluence between Western and Eastern modalities, as on “Country Dances.” Liner notes include an overview of Ukraine and track notes that include musical analysis.
The red variant was chosen for the CD release from 2007. This color combination was also used for a vinyl edition.
