Klaipėdos universitetas

The Tėviškė (Homeland) Society for Lithuania’s cultural relations with compatriots abroad was set up in Soviet Lithuania in 1976 on the basis of previous analogous institutions. Through the society, attempts were made to control the cooperation with emigrant compatriots, disseminate the Soviet propaganda, restrict the spread of objective information, and discredit the right-wing emigration organizations that nurtured the idea of restoration of Lithuania’s independence. The aim of this paper is to review the programme of cultural exchanges with emigrants in the USA, implemented in the Soviet times, by highlighting the musical aspect. The research is based on the Cold War paradigm, the work of historians who analysed the topic, the still unexplored documentation of the Tėviškė Society, and the letters addressed to it and currently stored in the Lithuanian Special Archives. The cultural cooperation programme also included the field of tourism, which was especially useful for governmental institutions wishing to demonstrate the achievements of Soviet Lithuania to foreign visitors. It was partly supervised by the Tėviškė Society. However, this is a subject for a new study and will not be analysed in the present paper.

The particular phenomenon of a Baltic style emerges in contemporary Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian organ music, related to the dimension of the depth and the cycles of waves, rising to appocalyptic transcendentality. Its features are like the style of eternity: eternal melody, monotony of rhythm, the power of the depths concentrating on eclipse and enlightenment. The philosophy of religion and nature, as well as aspects of pantheism, the search for ‘another space’, and the paradigm of the horizon of visuality, are clearly hidden in this semantic. All these ideas featured in the music could be called a Baltic phenomenon, the motivation of which is based on a confrontation with the agressive nature of the north and the Russian Empire. This concept is supported by the Baltic self, and is extended by the Lithuanian identity reconcept: the turn to Baroque and European connections in culture, statehood and the rationalism of the Enlightenment.

The question is – whether Mournful lamentations it’s local o non-local tradition? Purpose of the research: investigate music of the Mournful lamentations songs in Lithuania. The conclusions validate the hypothesis that the Mournful lamentations music in Lithuania is non – local, but brought with Lithuanian colour.

The article explores the musical culture of East Prussia of the 18th c. in different forms of its expression. The epoch of Enlightenment provided a new impetus for the development of the culture in the region. The Protestant Lutheran hymnody was developing, and the tradition of Evangelical surinkimai (prayer hours held in private homes by lay preachers (German: Stundenhalters)) was progressing. Königsberg University was of great significance for the promotion of the regional culture. In the 18th c., the East Prussian school of composition was born, different techniques of instrumental ensemble and solo music making started developing, the house music making traditions were gaining popularity, and big cities had the first musical theatres. It was in that context that the personality of Donelaitis and the character of his cultural activity was maturing and developing.