Taras Shevchenko, known colloquially as Kobzar, the brilliant national poet of Ukraine, is celebrated for his all-embracing humanism, and his deep and genuine folk character.

Among his most well-known poems is Testament (Zapovit), translated into more than 150 languages. In 1989 it was published in Danish. 

Zapovit is well-loved in the land of its origin, enjoying a status rivalling that of the national anthem—Sche Ne Vmerla, Ukraina!

Prominent Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko drew on Testament  for his first choral composition and saw its inaugural performance in 1868.