Performance of religious songs on the Kanklės in Lithuania in the 19th-21st centuries

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Kalvarijos kalnų giesmės; Kanklininkai; Kanklės; Lietuvos regionai; Mergelės Marijos giesmės; Raudos; Religinės giesmės; Repertuaras; Tradicinės lietuvių kanklės; Kanklės; Kanklės players; Laments; Regions of Lithuania; Religious hymns; Repertoire, religious songs; The Hours of St. Mary the Virgin; The Way of the Cross songs; Traditional Lithuanian kanklės.

ENThe issue analysed in the present article is still-existing absence of specialised research related to performance of religious songs (hymns) on the kanklÎs (Lithuanian traditional zither) in Lithuania during the 19th-21st centuries. Researchers of our country's ethnic culture (i.e. Zenonas Slaviėnas, Jadvyga Čiurlionytė, Jonas Švedas, Pranas Stepulis, Vladas Bartusevičius, Marija Baltrėnienė, Romualdas Apanavičius, Alfonsas Motuzas, the author of the present article, etc.) have presented the history of traditional instruments as well as their classification, repertoire and customs related to playing such instruments. Nevertheless, their works nearly lack analyses of religious song performance on the kanklÎs or the position they occupy in ethnic culture. The object of the research is performance of religious songs on the kanklÎs in Lithuania. The aim of the research is to make an overview on perform ance of religious songs on the kanklÎs in Lithuania in the 19th through the 21st century. [Extract, p. 58]