VILNIUS State Choir
(artistic director and principal conductor Artūras Dambrauskas)
LITHUANIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
(artistic director and conductor Sergej Krylov)
Soloists: MONTA MARTINSONE (soprano), DŽERALDAS BIDVA (violin), RENATA MARCINKUTĖ-LESIEUR (organ)
Conductor ROBERTAS ŠERVENIKAS
Electronics: MATTHIAS KRONLACHNER, GIEDRIUS KRUKAUSKAS, MANTAUTAS KRUKAUSKAS, VILIUS NARVILAS
ALFRED SCHNITTKE – Sutartinės for string orchestra
ARVO PÄRT – Fratres for violin, strings and percussion
ARŪNAS NAVAKAS – Et ubi estis nunc? For soprano, choir and orchestra
ALGIRDAS MARTINAITIS – Atmink, Viešpatie (Remember This, O Lord) for choir and electronics
MANTAUTAS KRUKAUSKAS – The Prayer for choir and electronics
FAUSTAS LATĖNAS – Agnus Dei for choir and organ
GINTARAS SAMSONAS – Libera animas omnium for choir, orchestra and electronics
PĒTERIS VASKS – Cantabile per archi
VIDMANTAS BARTULIS – Stabat Mater for choir and orchestra
The fateful events of January 1991 brought about historic changes in Lithuania, and the courage and desire for freedom of the Lithuanian people became an example for the whole world. The determination and unity of a small nation is a testimony to the spirit of the people and their belief in the path of freedom that they chose, a path that also required human sacrifice. This concert of music from the Baltic States is dedicated to the Day of the Defenders of Freedom.
Alfred Schnittke’s Sutartinės for chamber orchestra have become a traditional work performed on this date. The composer, who lived in Germany, learned of the tragic events and took a set of Lithuanian sutartinės and overnight composed a masterpiece for the people of Lithuania. The composer gave the opus to his friends Saulius Sondeckis and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, who performed it immediately.
The concert is titled Stabat Mater, after one of Vidmantas Bartulis’ last works of the same name. His Stabat Mater was first performed on 4 September 2019 at Vilnius Cathedral, six months before the composer’s death. Tonight’s concert will also feature opuses by Arūnas Navakas, Mantautas Krukauskas, Gintaras Samsonas, Algirdas Martinaitis’ Atmink, Viešpatie (Remember This, O Lord) from Tikėjimo ir vilties invokacijos (Invocations of Faith and Hope), Faustas Latėnas’ cantata Agnus Dei, and instrumental pieces by the friends of Lithuania – Estonian Arvo Pärt and Latvian Pēteris Vasks. The aforementioned works have already become masterpieces of the 20th century.
