Programme

Alfonsas Mikulskis (1909-1983)

Idyll of the Lithuanian Forest (Mikulskis)

3 movements

Mikulskis was a Lithuanian cellist, conductor, composer, cultural figure, poet, and educator.

Valentinas Bagdonas (1929-2009)

The Dawn is Breaking (Bagdonas)

This is a traditional Lithuanian folk song. ‘The Dawn is Breaking’ melds late romanticism with a bracing folksong element and a gorgeous wisp of melody.

Juozas Naujalis (1869-1934)

Dear Lithuania (Naujalis)

Juozas Naujalis was a Lithuanian composer, organist and choir conductor. He is acclaimed as Lithuanian music patriarch. This is a classical Lithuanian piece which, for many decades, has been sung as the nation’s second anthem.

Jonas Svedas (1908-1979)

Prelude and Fugue in C Major (Svedas)

Jonas Svedas’ Prelude and Fugue in C major sets up a strong and shimmering tension and release

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

La fille aux cheveux de lin, L. 125 No. 8 (Debussy)

Translated as The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, this is the eighth piece in the first book of Preludes (1909-1910) by Debussy.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

On Wings of Song, Op. 34 No. 2 (Mendelssohn)

This is the second of Felix Mendelssohn's "six songs for voice and piano". It is a setting of the poem Auf Flügeln des Gesanges by the German Romantic poet Heinrich Heine published in his Buch der Lieder in 1827

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

En Bateau, L. 65 No. 1 (Debussy)

This is the first movement in Debussy's Petite Suite, inspired by poems from the volume Fêtes galantes by Paul Verlaine (1844–1896)

Takatsugu Muramatsu (1978-)

Land (Muramatsu)

Land was written for marimbist Momoko Kamiya by composer Takatsugu Muramatsu. This beautiful and elegant piece incorporates a very rubato tempo, allowing the performer to be very expressive within the framework laid out by Muramatsu. The main theme is presented over a gently pulsating accompaniment after a brief free section to begin the piece. The middle of the piece incorporates this theme into triplets that creates a sort of “rolling” effect. The piece closes with the original theme material in a new key with some additional variations.

Caroline Elizabeth Harding

Rebmaer (Harding)

Irish composer Caroline Elizabeth Harding has directly responded to Kataliute’s plea for more material. Her ‘Rebmaer’ involved contemporary practices like knocking in the wood if the casing as well as enharmonics around the core themes.

Performers

Emilija Karaliute - Kanklės

Emilija is a professional classical and folk musician who began studying the kanklės in Lithuania from an early age, developing a deep connection to the instrument and its cultural roots. She has been playing the kanklės for 16 years and has been awarded the title of the National Laureate of Lithuania twice. The kanklės is the Lithuanian National instrument, which remains relatively unknown to many. Emilija is passionate about sharing the kanklės with new audiences, promoting the diversity of Lithuanian culture. Now a regular performer in the UK, with her recent solo shows in Paris and Berlin, Emilija continues to engage audiences with her ability to integrate the kanklės into diverse genres, including classical, contemporary, and folk music.

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