Based on a traditional Lithuanian part-song

Performed at the 2024 Centennial Lithuanian Song Festival in Vilnius, featuring more than 11,000 singers!

  • Voicing: SSAA, piano
  • Duration: 2' 45" (Festival Edition), 4' (Extended Edition)
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Language: Lithuanian
  • Availability: Buy online at JW Pepper and SheetMusicPlus (Octavo and E-print)

Sutartinės are traditional Lithuanian multi-part songs and have been recognized by UNESCO as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2010.

This piece expands upon the traditional Lithuanian sutartinė “Užaugo liepa,” a story of a linden tree and a woman’s reverie. The first verse (both the melody and the three-part canonical texture) is an exact quotation of the folk source material. After that, we depart from the strict form; the “chorus” (m.11) is of my own invention, and each successive verse preserves the original melody but is given a unique character to help illuminate the meaning of the text and make this fantasy colorful and vibrant.

NOTE ABOUT THE TWO EDITIONS

The “extended edition” is in fact the original version of the piece that tells the full story of the folk text.  I subsequently created a shorter “festival edition” for the 2024 Lithuanian Song Festival, which uses only verses 1-5 of the text and features a strong, punchy ending. I’ve decided to let both versions coexist and let choirs choose their own adventure.

Extended Edition (the original version)