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A Ukrainian whistle, concert zitter, a Hulusi flute from China, whistles, a clarinet, and even an ancient organ from the north of Norway, dating back several hundred years - the live sound and stories of these and many other instruments can now be heard in an educational video by multi-instrumentalist Saulius Petreikis on the music portal ltinstrumentai.lt. The digital library of the portal has also been expanded with sheet music for as many as 11 pieces, which are available to anyone who wants to make music at home or in music lessons.
Promotes interest in instrumental music
The music education portal ltinstrumentai.lt, created by Saulius Petreikis and the Saulės muzika Public Enterprise, has been in existence for six years. The portal is dedicated to promoting independent music making at home or at school and to discovering not only Lithuanian folk instruments, but also other instruments from around the world.
The portal ltinstrumentai.lt (available in english) offers detailed descriptions of old Lithuanian instruments, educational videos presenting different instruments, and an extensive sheet music library. "We aim to provide resources and inspiration for music teachers, self-formed ensembles and all musicians. The wider mission of our portal is to revitalise interest in instrumental music, which is currently declining. In addition, we want to draw attention to folk and world music genres as an alternative to classical and jazz music. The more people who play different instruments, the more listeners there will be, and the more listeners there are, the more people who understand the importance of the acoustic idea of live instruments," says the project's creator, S. Petreikis.
It is estimated that the portal receives around 500 visitors per month and has also received support from the music teaching community.
A half-hour journey around the world with instruments
The latest educational video "Sounding Castles and Travelling Musicians" is an introduction to 15 instruments played by Saulius Petreikis himself and a team of musicians assisting him: musician Donatas Petreikis, zitter player Aistė Bružaitė, organist Rimvydas Mitkus, percussionist Domantas Razmus and guitarist Chirs Ruebens.
"Just like in the previous educational video about archaic folk instruments, in this one we are looking for new sounds, so the audience can see not only the instruments themselves, but also feel the process of performing the music, a process that is accentuated by the stunts performed by the street artist Viačeslavas Mickevičius. We didn't hide the behind-the-scenes of the filming, so in the video you can see how the cameraman works, and you can also see the involvement of the little listeners of the live performance," says S. Petreikis.
"We want to convey the idea of playing as a game. After all, in many languages around the world, playing means "play". Understanding music performance as a game helps us to enter the world of playing more courageously, which is very important in our culture, where music making is often presented as a very difficult, highly skilled job. We are going in the opposite direction and aim to restore the playful, even therapeutic side of music-making. We believe that this approach helps music to grow and helps more and more people to try music making as a way of leisure, therapy and relaxation", emphasises S. Petreikis.
The educational music video "Sounding Castles and Travelling Musicians" was created by a large team of professionals: director Juozas Bobina, sound engineer Normantas Ulevičius. The video was filmed in the "Smoke Factory" space.
The sheet music library has been expanded with melodies accessible to all
Saulius Petreikis sees sharing sheet music and compositions that will help people with a basic knowledge of music to take their first steps towards music as another equally important mission for himself and for ltinstrumentai.lt.
"Our portal's free digital library has been updated with sheet music for 11 compositions for 16 instruments. These pieces are born out of a desire to share and inspire. All the scores are suitable for piano and a different solo instrument, but the pieces have been chosen so that they can be joined with any instrument or even a whole group of instruments, so that the number of musicians, like the number of instruments, is unlimited. We aim to share pieces that are accessible to musicians of all abilities, so all you need is to be able to read music. Our main goal in sharing our sheet music is to show how music is made and how different instruments can be combined. We hope that this initiative will not only inspire people who are interested in music to take up music making themselves, but also encourage other composers and musicians to share their melodies more widely", says Petreikis. Arrangements by Donatas Petreikis and piano by Rahel Talts.
Currently, 11 compositions for different instruments are available in the digital library of ltinstrumentai.lt.
The project is funded by:
Lithuanian Council for Culture, LATGA, Vilnius City Municipality.
"The Gate of Dreams" is an album about escaping the rush and forgetting worldly troubles. Each composition, in its own way, guides the listener to a serene space where dreams warmly greet us. The album is dedicated to celebrating peace and reconnecting with oneself.
S. Petreikis explains about the backstory of the album:
In the past couple of years, I travelled extensively in every sense—exploring different genres and foreign countries. After active concert activities with my brother Donatas, we joined forces to refresh the musical program, searching for the key to continue our journey. This gave birth to the new album and the musical live performance program.
Starting on December 3rd in Luznava (Latvia), Saulius Petreikis and the band will tour 2 Latvian, 3 Estonian and 9 Lithuanian cities. The concert will include short interludes during which Saulius will present several different ancient instruments. The artist wants not only to show the instruments but also to encourage the audience to make music at home, for their own enjoyment. S. Petreikis emphasizes that in his concerts, there is no age censorship. Find the closest venue here!
Petreikis says:
Music, the abundance of instruments has a therapeutic, balancing effect on everyone, which is very needed in our fast-paced world. This musical program is important to me also because I created it with my brother Donatas, who is, in a musical sense, a part of me. We understand each other without words and want to share this message of creating unity with everyone.
The musical program will be tailored to each concert venue. Talking about the musical tour across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania accompanying the new album, S. Petreikis says that the concerts will feature both new and a couple of older compositions dear to the performer and his most loyal listeners.
Concerts:
3 d. - Lūznavas muiža, Lativa
4 d. - VEF Kultūras pils, Riga
6 d. - Kuressaare Cultural center, Estonia
7 d. - Viljandi Traditional Music Barn, Estonia
8 d. - Põlva Culture center, Estonia
13 d. - Utena Chamber Theater;
14 d. - Culture Palace community center of Panevezys
16 d. - Kaunas Culture Center;
17 d. - „Laiptai Gallery“, Šiauliai;
19 d. - The Drama Theater of Žemaitė, Telšiai;
20 d. - Culture Factory, Klaipėda;
21 d. - Šilutė Cultural Center;
22 d. - Saint Catherine's Church, Vilnius (special concert for 700 anniversary of Vilnius);
January 6 d. - Alytus City Theatre;
Link to album - https://open.spotify.com/album/4GI6IRq6aCUKhmMkFxi9va?si=yk3v0XkfQ_mCk8BvezJgHQ
About the album:
“The Gate of Dreams is an album about escaping the rush and forgetting worldly troubles. Each composition, in its own way, guides the listener to a serene space where dreams warmly greet us. “The album emerged from a desire to capture a state of tranquility, connecting deeply with oneself and cherished loved ones. My parents sang various lullabies to me during my childhood. These are among the most vivid memories I treasure. Now, at this phase of my life, I too sing lullabies and narrate fairy tales to my children. This is the most anticipated part of my day. Sharing moments, singing, and reading together offers a soothing escape. After my children drifted to sleep, I would spend nights in the recording studio, trying to freeze that delicate moment when there's no rush, where it's safe, peaceful, and heartwarming. Simply capturing melodies wasn't enough. I aimed to immerse myself in every composition, devoting time to the arrangements and introspection. This creative journey felt like a path to discovering a renewed musical self. After almost four years, one June morning, I was overjoyed realizing this album had reached its conclusion. I'm profoundly thankful to the musicians and the entire team who stood by me and contributed to this creation. My heartfelt thanks to all.” - S. Petreikis"
Video clips:
"Mažutytė" embraces the beauty of world music and transports the listener to a meditative state of mind. A divine and dreamy place, so to speak, where one's avatar can sit on the grass, feeling their soul merging with the forests, rivers, and every piece of nature around. With the tasteful melodies of bansuri flute and whistle, it is almost like entering through the Gate of Dreams and leaving the city and its fast-paced life behind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDe_s2JFvrQ
"Sapnų vartai” is a blissful dream tune coated in the light of #meditative world music. The song radiates the sensation of infinite peace and security, the sacred state we experience in the mother's womb. Like two indivisible origins, synthesizers, accompanied by various melodies of wind instruments, and two vocals – male's, and female's – dwell in a unanimous beauty. Thanks, Vytautė Pupšytė (Manjari Lila dasi) for the help in the recording session. The video was directed by Vladas Novicki: "When are we in reality and when are we in a dream? When we dream, do we enter yet another dream? What is the journey of the dreamer? These questions became my inspiration.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0m8YzDNo4
After the first snow, I'm sharing a new track and video - Tyli Žiema (en. Silent Winter). It's a song about a pure feeling that often comes only in the hard frost of winter. I want to thank the whole team that contributed to the creation and realization of this song. I invite you to share your thoughts on this piece in the comments. The director of the video - Paulius Dragūnas - on the idea of the video: "I feel that in our society, older people have been sort of erased from the horizon. With this music video, I want to remind you of the incredible people who grew up, who rejoiced on this land of ours.” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2ih7N9ciLk
SAULIUS PETREIKIS PRESENTS THE CONCERT FILM "SUN MUSIC": DISCOVER THE SPIRIT OF WORLD MUSIC
Jul 14, 2023
1061 views
"I believe that this concert will allow us to hear lesser-known musicians from neighbouring countries and broaden the audience's knowledge of world music," says Saulius Petreikis, the festival director. His mission is to bring together and nurture the world music community and promote music-making at home.
The musical part of the concert is complemented by short conversations with the festival guests about creativity, world music and neighbouring countries.
According to Viktorija Buivydė, Head of Development at the Teachers' House, it was great to see the sun and warmth from the festival's title land on the stage and then spread throughout the auditorium.
"After the concert, many people mentioned that they had been on a short holiday, as it were. There was an atmosphere of cosiness and friendliness throughout the festival. We invited the audience not to be afraid to bring their children, even though it was an evening concert. It was incredible how well they took to the music and were very exemplary spectators, sometimes waving and jumping in the aisles. We wanted our festival to be cosy and immediate, and the appreciation of the youngest audience members was the best proof that we had succeeded," she says.
A particularly important part of the events was the education for the whole family - a lecture by Dr. Eirim Velička on "What is world music?", Laima Jansonė (kanklės, Latvia), Kaspars Kurdeko (percussion, Latvia), Andre Maaker (guitar, Estonia) and Peedu Kass (double bass, Estonia).
The culmination of the festival in Vilnius Teachers' House was the closing concert in the Great Hall. It featured guests from abroad, and the evening continued with a joint performance by the participants, joined by musicians from Lithuania.
The organisers are also pleased to announce that this year will mark the third edition of the Sun Music Festival. World music evenings and educational events will take place from 8-12 November at the Vilnius Teachers' House and St Catherine's Church.
This year's events will feature bands from Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Lithuania. The detailed programme of the festival will be announced in the near future, and those who are looking forward to the festival can already buy a festival season ticket.
The concert was recorded and directed by Paulius Dragūnas.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ejI0osxio&t=1806s
http://www.ltinstrumentai.lt/en/
Here you will find short descriptions of Lithuanian folk musical instruments and have a chance to study antique sheet music as well as listen to the traditional songs and improvisations performed by professional musicians.
Most information found on the website is dedicated to the vast group of wind musical instruments. However, the content will be constantly growing. We hope that this website will become an open platform for sharing the tales, legends and knowledge of our musical history.
If you have any interesting stories or observations regarding ancient Lithuanian musical instruments, please do not hesitate to share them and contact us.
Descriptions of the instrument were prepared with the help of the ethnomusicologist Varsa Liutkutė Zakarienė.
Watch video here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyKPAcIJoaA
Watch extract here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CEDQ3b8wI
https://www.sauliuspetreikis.com
http://www.ltinstrumentai.lt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I7wbEFPCmc
Bičiuliai, noriu pasidalinti svarbiomis žiniomis - liepos mėnesį pristatysime jums naują albumą - Laisvė šaukia! Tai mano ir Donato bendras kūrinys, prie kurio dirbome daugiau nei dvejus metus. Albumo įrašuose dalyvavo visas World Orchestra kolektyvas, o jo garso kokybe rūpinosi gausi inžinierių komanda. Kūrybos ir įrašų proceso detalėmis būtinai dar pasidalinsiu, o ši diena skirta dideliam džiaugsmui. Mano rankose pirmoji (test pressings) vinilinė plokštelė! Ji skirta mano mylimam broliui. Labai pasiilgau ir nekantrauju, kada galėsime vėl susitikti ir drauge pristatyti šią programą gyvai. O visus, kurie norėtų įsigyti vinilinę ar kompaktinę plokštelę, kviečiu parašyti el. paštu info@spmuzika.com
Education trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfZiCZ0L0N8
Full education - https://www.patreon.com/join/sauliuspetreikis
