LAP Lambert Academic Publishing The Lithuanian Choral Tradition: A National Identity through Song

What were the first songs like? How did choral music as we know it today evolve? Where is it trending? The answers may well be heard along the shores of the Baltic. With a boundless song heritage dating back 5,000 years or more, Lithuanian singing and songs have been praised at least since Roman times. Latin verses extolled their songs. Livy wrote about their singing. Lithuanian songs have been loved by choral directors like Nadia Boulanger and resound in music as diverse as the motets of the Italian Baroque, the Lieder of Schubert, the ballets of Stravinsky and the music of countless composers as varied as Haydn, Schumann, Dvořák and Grieg, even inspiring the modernist and minimalist music of today. Once Europe’s largest country, its singing, more than any single factor, kept its identity alive, surviving even the years of Soviet rule. While Lithuania still largely remains to be discovered, its choruses and music enrapture audiences worldwide. Must reading for music educators, musicologists, singers, conductors, composers, and all who love music. The Lithuanian Choral Tradition takes a unique musical heritage and vividly illuminates its history, context, education, and practice.