Sutartinės - Lithuanian polyphonic songs

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Sutartinės; Polifoninės dainos; Lithuania; Sutartines; Polyphonic Songs.

ENLithuania has been known as a "Land of Songs" since olden times. Distinguished foreign scholars, along with ordinary travelers have described the people of the country as a lyrical nationality. Actually, a note of sadness can oft be heard in many Lithuanian lyrical songs; for these it can be said that sometimes melancholy pervades. However, the ancient Lithuanian polyphonic songs are entirely different. These songs are known as sutartinės (this plural form is used throughout for simplicity). The word sutartinės is derived from the verb sutarti 'to agree', or 'to attune' with another person. Rather than lyricism, the strangely bewitching monotony of this type of music exudes more of a solemn and restrained mood. These songs remain an exotic mystery, as much to many currentday residents of Lithuania, as to people from abroad. The origins of these songs from this tiny little corner of Europe remain rather inexplicable. Paradoxically, there is much room for Lithuanians themselves to develop a full sense of pride in their own traditional music - the music, which sets them apart from others. Interestingly, it has not been the younger generation of these times, which has lost touch with its own traditions; rather, this is more true of the middle-aged population, sometimes known in Lithuania, as "the first generation away from the plow". Musical preferences of these people formed in a highly specified cultural atmosphere. Meanwhile, young people from urban areas, even those who have no particular interest in folklore, have adopted the sutartinės, as a unique form of meditation. For some time, this music has become a means of self-expression. Thus, although a collective singing of sutartinės is now a lost art in the rural villages of Lithuania, it has slowly returned to life in the repertoires of folk music ensembles from the cities. [...].It has been difficult to determine why or when one attitude or another about the sutartinės formed, and how viewpoints shifted. It has been equally as difficult to trace the stages of development of the various early forms of polyphonic music. At best, the sutartinės, including both vocal and instrumental polyphonic music, can be reconstructed, as a unique system of musical thought. Such a reconstruction of the entire system of second polyphonic music from the fragments, which have been scattered over the centuries, is akin to the research of semiotician Algirdas Julius Greimas. Greimas believed that Lithuanian mythology must be studied like cultural archeology, which involves a reconstruction of the whole out of "all the pieces of mythological fragments, scattered shards, and loose scraps". The author of this book attempts to accomplish precisely that. This is her effort at carrying on the work of earlier researchers, such as A. Sabaliauskas, A. R. Niemi, Z. Slaviūnas, S. Paliulis, and J. Čiurlionytė, among others. This fresh look at the sutartinės is influenced by the author's background, which contains both a practical and theoretical side. The author's background includes over 15 years of experience as a leader of sutartinės groups of performers, as well as that as a musicologist. This combined experience has provided an ability to address certain problematic issues, related to sutartinės. Practical observations are linked with musicological analysis, as well as ethnographic, archeological, linguistic, and other types of data. The aim of the author is to reveal the essence of the sutarinės, as a phenomenon of culture. A thorough investigation of this type today could assist in reconstructing the full formerly synchronous form of this music. Unquestionably, some of the thoughts, expressed in this book, remain hypothetical.Some of the assertions can be investigated, and either confirmed or denied by virtue of more detailed multi-disciplinary study. Possibly, other assertions are destined to remain intriguing and unsolvable riddles. This is the first book about the sutartinės to be written in English, and is expected to familiarize non-Lithuanians with these original polyphonic songs. Moreover, it is hoped that readers will develop an interest in learning more about the rich traditions of Lithuanian culture. Should the book prompt new ideas among readers, notwithstanding that such may be contrary to the ones presented here, the book will have served its purpose. Hopefully, the material will stimulate new research about the sutartinės in the context of traditional polyphonic music on an international scale. [From the publication]