American Lithuanian Church Choirs - Nurturers Of National Identity DANUTĖ PETRAUSKAITĖ

Introduction

IVlass emigration of Lithuanians to the USA started at the end of the nineteenth century. There were musicians among the first immigrants. Some of them brought along their violins, harmonicas and clarinets, gathering in dormitories after a hard day's work so that their songs would ring out even a few blocks away. Others partied in their own homes; and still others, who were more business minded, opened their own saloons-Lithu­ anian-style inns with dancing and singing, only bolder and more audacious. Thus country musicians, like art pioneers, were the first to spread Lithuanian music among their own and other nationalities. It would be difficult to imagine any large Lithuanian gathering, party, and wedding without them. These evening gatherings were spontaneous, without anyone purposefully directing or coordinating them. Thus today, we can consider them only as the beginnings of musical life or the introductory stage ofa new era,which started by founding Lith­ uanian parishes and associations. Being far from their mother­ land, Lithuanians not to forget their native language, national customs and traditions as well as the faith inherited from their ancestors. This is why they donated their hard-earned money for the construction of Lithuanian churches, hired organists, started parish choirs, and engaged in various musical activi­ ties.

Danute Petrauskaite is a professor at the Department of Music Histo­ ry and Theory at Klaipeda University and a senior reseracher and di­ rector of the Institute of Musicology. She has published several books and numerous articles both in Lithuania and abroad.

54 Founding of church choirs With the foundation of Lithuanian parishes, the first choirs also began to be founded. Although, due to the short­ age of choirmasters, not right away; this is why the priests had to hold Mass unaccompanied. The organists and bolder choir singers, who were able to read sheet music, became choir founders and leaders. Although organists started coming to America in 1879, the first church choir wasn't established until 1885 at St. Casimir's Parish, in Pitston, Pennsylvania. Evident­ ly, it was difficult to gather singers and to select the appropri­ ate repertoire. As more organists became available, however, and as more sheet music for them was printed, the number of choirs grew. The choir singers were longing for Lithuanian church services, and at the beginning they attended rehears­ als willingly, even though some of them had to walk seven to eight miles to get there: back then, there were no means of mass transportation yet. Most of the time, they would chant in a folk way-in two-part singing, or harmonizing. "If a certain mixed choir was singing in four parts, it was widely talked about."1 For Lithuanian Americans, singing in a church choir was not merely an assembly of singers, but also an opportunity to get together, to share their hardships and joys, and to remember their home country. As Lithuanians started organizing into various parties and organizations, disagreements arose that hurt the existence of the church choirs. At the slightest excuse, dissatisfied sing­ ers would leave the parish and establish secular choruses. They were joined by those who thought that church activities were too confining. This, however, was not to the detriment of the parish choirs, since for many being Lithuanian also meant be­ ing Catholic. Singing in church choirs, as a matter of fact, was a form of spiritual existence. In the U.S., between the end of the nineteenth century un­ til the last decade of the twentieth century, there were more than a hundred church choirs that lived, dissolved and formed again. Their abundance and activity was most prominent be­ tween the two world wars. The states of Pennsylvania, Illinois

Žilevičius, 1971, 16.

55 and Massachussets, with the largest settlements of Lithuanians, led in the number of church choirs. For many church singers, participation in the choir was one of their major cultural activi­ ties and provided immense emotional, spiritual and national pride. Parish choirs had a dual purpose: 1) to participate in church services and represent the parish in various religious and secular events, and 2) to cherish the exiles' national spirit and to foster their patriotic feelings. Both priests and organists, along with the choir leaders, acknowledged without a doubt that Lithuanian art was one of the most powerful factors in fostering a national identity among the emigres. Therefore, the repertoire of the church choirs was not limited to solely liturgi­ cal or religious music, but to a great extent was based on folk songs and secular works by Lithuanian composers. As early as the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea of founding the Parish Choir Association started spreading among American Lithuanian organists. But it was established only in 1933, when its statute, prepared by Juozas Žilevičius, was ratified. Since then, the parish choir movement became more active, but not at the same speed in different areas. Right away, in 1934, choir members in New Jersey became active by organizing an event for the Lithuanian choirs to get acquaint­ ed. A year later, similar events took place in Chicago, and Pitts­ burgh, and in 1938 in Brooklyn. The majority of Lithuanians were glad to have a Parish Choir Association established. The Consul of Lithuania, Petras Daužvardis, wrote:

Our youth cannot become Lithuanian by themselves. We have to raise them that way. [...] A choir with a thorough plan and management should take the young people over from schools and lead them into social life, because a song impresses a child, plants permanent roots and establishes strong ties with the nation. Song played a vital role in Lithuania under Russian opression, it can play a similar role among Lithuanians living in a free America.2

The Association promoted the growth of choirs, which became cultural as well as family hearths, because the young people met there, got acquainted and later often married.

2 Daužvardis, 1938, 2.

56 One of the greatest choir enthusiasts was Juozas Žilevičius. Through the press, he encouraged Lithuanians to let their chil­ dren sing in church choirs and explained:

Respectable parishioners, or in other words, all parents, have the sacred duty and noble task to encourage their sons and daughters to go to parish choirs. By doing so, you participate in a very important work, at no expense to you, that you may have overlooked. You accustom your young ones to moral, national, and religious maturity, give them a chance to learn the Lithuanian language, to fall in love with Lithuanian folk songs and, through fhem-Lithuania and the Lithuanian nation [...] The choir, with its chants and songs, brings joy to the parish; on occasion it acquaints foreigners with the Lithuanian language and music; thus, it is clear, that it is the voice of national vitality.3

During World War II, parish choirs started to break down: a large number of men-who were in short supply in choirs, anyway-had been drafted. This was also a result of the abro­ gation of the Parish Choir Association; i.e., its annexation to the American-Lithuanian Organists Society. War refugees, who started arriving in the U.S. around 1950, revived some church choirs and strengthened their artistic potential. Disagreements between the different generations, however, prevented har­ monious reciprocal work; therefore, more secular choirs were founded. Despite this, parish choir singers actively participat­ ed in all cultural events and, with their concerts, added to the efforts for Lithuania's liberation. Many immigrants understood that in exile one must live with the hope that the status of occu­ pied Lithuania would come to an end sometime: "Even though our country is occupied, we should kindle interest in its musi­ cal and creative life as much as we kindle interest in our moth­ erland."4 This was the reason the church choirs enhanced their musical programs by adding the works of Soviet Lithuanian composers. As the Lithuanian emigre community grew older, the number of parishes declined, and the church choirs experienced the same loss. They mostly survived in the biggest Lithuanian

3 Žilevičius, 1933. '' "Leidiniai," Muzikos žinios, 1982, No. 2, 24.

57 communities: Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and others. Many were upset that churches built with Lithuanian money were demolished or assigned to non-Lithuanian congrega­ tions. When Lithuania redeclared its independence in 1990, a new wave of immigrants came to the U.S. The young emigrants slowly started replacing the old organists and choir leaders, while trying to revive some choirs or start new ones-the hearth of Lithuanian culture.

Choral events during the first half of the twentieth century At the begining of the twentieth century, Lithuanians not­ ed that a much greater effect was created when several church choirs sang together. These concerts, which attracted large crowds of people, were the foundation of our current song festi­ vals. One of the first joint choir concerts was held on September 24,1914 in Chicago, when, at the initiative of organist Antanas Pocius, the cantata Broliai (Brothers), by Česlovas Sasnauskas was performed. The successful execution of this complicated work prompted the church choir leaders to participate in other similar events, where hundreds rather than dozens of singers sang. These events often took place within one of the regions of the American Lithuanian Organists Society, because there were no opportunities to collaborate with more distant parishes. For example, during the 1916 War Exhibition in Chicago, along with other nationals, five hundred Lithuanians from twelve Chicago-based choirs (some of them secular) participated in the event. That same year, the Brooklynites also arranged a Lithuanian Day, in which individual choirs participated under the guidance of organists Ksaveras Strumskis, Antanas Kveda­ ras and Stasys Suchodolskis. Stasys Šimkus conducted the joint choir. He participated in the mass Lithuanian choir festivals in 1917 through 1919. These were some of the first Lithuanian choral performances on such a grand scale.5 There were more events of this kind after 1918, when Lithuania became an independent state. Great enthusiasm er- rupted at the sites of mass choir gatherings, especially when

5 Žilevičius, 1971, 156.

58 Lithuanians appeared as an ethnic entity before nationals from other countries. These were the Lithuanian days, song days and song festivals. The names of these events are not strictly defined, so one and the same gathering may have been named differently. Usually, concerts in which other nationals partici­ pated and events were held in the open air, easily accessible to all, were called Lithuanian days. Song days were concerts for Lithuanians; and song festivals were events where huge masses of choir singers got together. In most cases, the music of Lithuanian composers was played during these events-this was the decision of the choirmasters. The church singers were the majority of all joint choir members, gladly accompanied by secular choir singers, because, when the question of represent­ ing Lithuania arose, all the differences in religious views and political interests vanished. In an unfamiliar environment, the feeling of national identity was especially strong. After one re­ gional song festival, the Lithuanians rejoiced:

The Lithuanian parish choirs attracted huge masses of people to Vytautas Park, where people sincerely admired the choirs' songs. The impression was grand, even exciting. So many Lithuanians, so many attractive young people, so many choirs! Over a dozen choirs were singing Lithuanian folk songs, and the whole audience was singing with them. This means that we are alive, we are singing in Lithuanian!6

One of the first Lithuanian Days took place in 1926, dur­ ing the celebration of Philadelphia's 150th anniversary as a city. Only three ethnic groups participated in this event-the Ger­ mans, Hungarians and Lithuanians, but the latter were signifi­ cantly better than the others and received the most attention from the native-born Americans. First of all, the Lithuanians managed to gather a great number of participants: a joint choir of 894 people and five "benai" (the word Lithuanians used for any size orchestra, modified from the English "band"), a symphony orchestra, and opera singers, along with a crowd of thousands of spectators. These people came to the festival in decorated carriages, pulled by thoroughbreds/ and were

"Praėjusio sekmadienio įspūdžiai," Muzikos žinios, 1936, No. 10,10. 7 Jankauskas, 1926,4.

59 proud that they were the only immigrants representing their country with an official member of the Lithuanian Govern­ ment - Deputy Prime Minister and Ambassador Extraordinaire Kazys Bizauskas, who came especially for the occasion. During the Lithuanian Day, the most popular songs were those written by composers from both Lithuania and the emigration. A special wave of the choral movement crested in 1930, during the 500th anniversary of the death of Vytautas the Great. The New Jersey and New York choirs under Mr. Juozas Žilevičius were its leaders. One of the most impressive concerts took place on June 1st in Carnegie Hall. This choral movement lasted for several years and was even joined by Chicago area organists. On October 26, 1930, they assembled a joint choir of one thousand singers for a program of Lithuanian songs. Lithuanian song days began to be held almost every year. Their programs would vary. In some places, it would begin with a church service; elsewhere, both the audience and the singers had to hurry directly to the town squares where the concerts took place. After the program, people danced, went swimming, joined in different sporting activities, or enjoyed snacks and beverages. One of the biggest events of this kind was held in 1933 at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chi­ cago. These Lithuanian Days inspired choir singers from other regions of the country to assemble massive joint choirs of up to a thousand singers and to arrange concerts in parks and con­ cert halls in various American cities. Even though this wave of activities slowed down within a few years, a new tradition of choral activity had started and would continue on a smaller scale. The idea to have a general song festival arose during the 1930s concerts. The discussions continued well into the next few years. A plan was ratified in 1936 in the form of a reso­ lution passed during the meeting of the American Lithuanian Organists Society and, in 1937, the assembly finally decided to organize a general song festival in New York during the 1939 World's Fair. The Parish Choir Association had been active from 1934 organizing regional song festivals and large picnics. It appears that the organists noticed that many young Lithuanians "were

60 inclined to interact with other nationals/'8 so they started or­ ganizing Lithuanian parties, festivities, and nature tours. Dur­ ing the 1930s, there was an especially intense choir movement,9 and song festivals took place almost yearly in the largest Lithu­ anian settlements. The most capable church choirs participated in them and prominent members of society delivered speeches. A huge role in this movement belonged to the Parish Choir So­ ciety and the periodical Muzikos žinios. They would constantly encourage the parish choir leaders and organists to work for the common Lithuanian good. Lithuanian Days and regional song festivals were held on various occasions: February 16th (Lithuanian Independence Day), the anniversary of Darius and Girėnas' flight across the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Independence Day and to celebrate other significant Lithuanian or American historical events. The most massive and prominent assembly of Lithuanian choirs took place on September 10,1939 in New York:

This was a public manifestation of Lithuanian power that surpassed anything remembered by young and old alike. American-Lithuanians from places far and near came to the squares and pavilions; they traveled by trains, buses, and cars, some even came by airplane.10

It made an unforgettable impression on everyone, when choir after choir stepped into the square. They were accompanied by the orchestras and veterans holding flags. Tears of joy were shed at the sight of so many Lithuanians at the World's Fair.11

This was a power unseen and unheard of, bursting from the motherland and blooming in the youth raised here, who depicted all of Lithuania in the program of fifteen songs.12

About seventy choirs had intended to participate in Lithu­ anian Day, but for various reasons only 59 finally came to New

s "Tamaqua, I'A, žinios" Muzikos žinios, 1935, No. 10,4. 9 Petrauskaitė, 2001, 112-114. 10 Reporteris IV. "40 000 Pasaulines parodos Lietuviu dienoj" Amerika, 1939, August 15, 1. 11 Žilevičius, 1971,178 12 "Lietuvos diena. Chorų ir vargonininkų sąjungų seimai," Muzikos žinios, 1939, No. 10,4.

61 York: 45 of them from the Parish Choir Society, and 14 secular ones. Even that was an impressive number, however, since al­ most three thousand singers participated in the joint choir. Mr. Juozas Žilevičius prepared them for the event, visiting various regions and monitoring the choir rehearsals of the program. The Vytautas Magnus University Choir under Konradas Ka- veckas was expected to arrive too, but after Lithuania regained the Vilnius region and the national economy declined, the trip did not receive the required funding. For the same reason, Lithuanian participation in the 1940 World's Fair in New York was also very modest: the nation was not able to support its emigre community and the American Lithuanians were unable to raise enough money themselves. Nevertheless, Lithuanians intended to continue organizing choir events, though not as frequently: during the 28th American Lithuanian Organists So­ ciety meeting, a resolution was ratified to name the Lithuanian Day of September 10,1939, the First Song Festival and to orga­ nize such festivals every five years.

Choir events of the second half of the twentieth century Thousands of new Lithuanian immigrants settled in the U.S. in the mid-twentieth century and the festivals continued. The American Lithuanian Organist Society, through its regional organists and parish choir directors, became the main organiz­ ers. A huge role in organizing joint choirs belonged to Mr. Juo­ zas Žilevičius. At his initiative, the cycle of New York and New Jersey regional song festivals took place. After the last chord of a concert, church choir leaders would say: "Though this is the last festival in the cycle of programs drafted by Mr. Juozas Žilevičius, the very idea of the song festivals should not go into oblivion. We must plan again, invite even more choirs and turn it into an annual tradition. These festivals would be attended not only by the choirs of New York and New Jersey, we could invite choirs from Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston. They could be held at different locations every year. This should not be too difficult to organize. The importance of such festivals would be positive in all respects: it would promote the growth

62 of choirs, improve their performance level, spread the culture of song, and support the Lithuanian spirit."13 This idea immediately found resonance among the or­ ganists and choir leaders. During the 1953 American Lithua­ nian Organists Society meeting, Stepas Sodeika suggested that preliminary song festivals be organized in all regions during the very next year, and a special music commission was estab­ lished to oversee the matter. But only one regional song festival took place, in Chicago. It turned out that organizing a general song festival in the U.S., and especially in Canada, was not an easy task. The preparatory efforts lasted several more years and became a kind of test for the organizational and artistic capa­ bilities of the Lithuanian community. On July 2,1954, during a meeting of the American-Lithuanian Roman Catholic Alliance, the Organists Society appointed an executive committee to call the Chicago choirmasters together for a discussion. Those gath­ ered supported the plans to hold a song festival in 1956 and formed a temporary Song Festival Committee; it became a per­ manent committee a year later. It consisted of Elena Blandytė, Vladas Butėnas, Juzė Daužvardienė, Albinas Dzirvonaitis, Agnė Jasaitytė, Juozas Kreivėnas, Justinas Kudirka, Vytautas Radžius, and Alice Stephens. The U.S. Lithuanian Community Chicago Chapter was included, because the decision was made to hold the festival in Chicago. On July 1,1956, over thirty choirs came to Chicago - more than a thousand singers.14 Approximately half of them were from parish choirs. The festivities started at Holy Cross Church, which could not hold everyone who wished to participate. After the service, a crowd of thousands flooded the streets and hur­ ried to the Coliseum, with a capacity of more than eight thou­ sand seats. Since there was a shortage of tickets, some listeners had to stand outside the open doors. American and Lithuanian flags fluttered in the Assembly Hall, floral wreaths decorated

13 I'. J. "Iš vargonininkų ir chorų veikimo/'Muzikos žinios, 1952, No. 10, 77. 14 Various publications give differing numbers of participants. Draugas (August 11, 1956) claims that thirty-two choirs with 145 members came. Muzikos žinios (1956, No. 3) states that there were thirty-four choirs consisting of 143 members.

63 the stage and two grand pianos stood at the wings. After the brass fanfares, members of the Darius and Girėnas Legion and the Lithuanian National Guard Sauliai marched from the depths of the hall. The festival organizers stepped to the micro­ phones. They introduced Mr. Juozas Žilevičius - the organizer of the first Lithuanian Song Festival - and presented him with a conductor's baton made especially for this event. The con­ ductor accepted the baton respectfully, kissed it and promptly raised it in the air. The brass fanfares resounded to his gesture, and the joint choir sang Dievas mūsų prieglauda ir stiprybė, (God is our comfort and strength) arranged by Juozas Naujalis, the song that had started every song festival in Lithuania. Then the choir sang the American and Lithuanian national anthems. During the latter, many tears were shed in the audience, re­ membering the days of freedom in the homeland. The organiz­ ers announced short greetings, Mr. Juozas Žilevičius was fol­ lowed by other conductors of the festival - Vladas Baltrušaitis, Bronius Budriūnas, Alfonsas Mikulskis, Stepas Sodeika, Alice Stephens, Kazys Steponavičius, and Sister Bernarda Venskutė. Exhausted by the summer heat, the crowd listened to the songs of Aleksandras Aleksys, Bronius Budriūnas, Jonas Dambraus­ kas, Julius Gaidelis, Juozas Gruodis, Vladas Jakubėnas, Vytau­ tas Jančius, Jeronimas Kačinskas, Bruno Markaitis, Mikas Pe­ trauskas, Česlovas Sasnauskas, and Juozas Žilevičius. After the closing words of Juozas Kreivėnas, marches resounding, the flags were borne away. It was a long time before the public dis­ persed. For quite a while they mingled in the streets, discuss­ ing their impressions of the festival.

Filled with enthusiasm, the Lithuanians immediately began to think about arranging another general song festi­ val. But it has to be acknowledged that the general movement died down after the first U.S. and Canadian song festival. Even though the Lithuanian Music Section of the 1956 Cultural Con­ gress passed a resolution saying that "choral activity is a prime factor in maintaining Lithuanian identity,"15 a time for rest and relaxation had arrived. Only a parish here and there managed

"Rengėjų žodis Dainų švente užbaigiant," Muzikos žinios, 1956, No. 3, 71.

64 to arrange a combined choral festival in its area. Church choirs contented themselves with single concerts, which also became less frequent. This had to do with the buoyant secular choral activity and the aging of the church organists. Some capable and culturally active choirmasters, however, continued to ar­ range religious music concerts in their churches. But in many hearts, especially those of the latest settlers, who had by now managed to get established in their new coun­ tries, a flame of hope flickered that one day the choirs of the U.S. and Canada would again be invited to form a big ensem­ ble. This matter was taken up by the leaders of the Lithuanian Community USA, who appointed the prelate Ignas Albavičius festival chairman. He accepted the appointment and, accord­ ing to Vladas Jakubėnas, "by using his authority and tact, did much to even out differences of opinion and to cement together all the activity in preparation for the festival."16 The prelate and other festival organizing committee members (Teodoras Blin- strubas, Stasys Daunys, Jonas Jasaitis, Justinas Kudirka, Jonas Paštukas, Vytautas Radžius, and Jonas Zdanius) chose as the venue for the mass song festival, which took place in Chicago on July 2, 1961, a spacious amphitheatre that accommodated about fourteen thousand spectators. The greatest disagree­ ments were about the repertoire and the domination of the new immigrants in decision-making about basic issues relat­ ing to the festival. The American Lithuanian Organists Society felt slighted and pushed aside, since it had been the initiator of the first U.S. and Canadian Song Festival. The older choirmas­ ters wanted an easier and more popular concert program. The organizers, however, wanted not just massive turnout, but an artistic result as well, so they tried to get more varied and more complex songs by younger composers into the repertoire. Vla­ das Jakubėnas worked hard to improve the repertoire. Thanks to his critical articles and personal initiatives, more complex songs got into the program. At first, there was a determination to stage a cantata, but this idea had to be abandoned for lack of a suitable composition. This lack was made up by Vladas Jakubėnas's Tremtinių ir išvežtųjų giesmė (Hymn of the exiles and

(' Jakubėnas, 1961, 320.

65 deportees). When the repertoire was being put together, some doubted whether the choirs would be capable of performing this hymn, as well as the challenging Juozas Bertulis song Pabusk, pasauli (Wake up, world). The results, however, dispersed all doubt: "It appears that our choirs, living in a highly developed society, have somehow become more sophisticated, smoother; their intonation and sense of rhythm have definitely improved. Even the weaker choirs, unable to manage full rehearsals of the more difficult works, have nonetheless learned the sepa­ rate voice parts and, led by the conductor's baton and the other choir members, have been able to contribute to the joint singing without any problem."17 The organizing committee managed to solve some intergenerational conflicts and to diffuse certain choirmasters' ultimatums by agreeing on a repertoire and in­ viting to the festival the most senior U.S. Lithuanian organists and choirmasters - Juozas Žilevičius and Aleksandras Aleksis. They were chosen to be honorary conductors. In addition, the festival was conducted by Bronius Budriūnas, Julius Gaidelis, Alfonsas Mikulskis, Steponas Sodeika, Alice Stephens, and Ka­ zys Steponavičius. This song festival was not as massive as the first one. Ac­ cording to Juozas Žilevičius, 26 choirs, consisting of 986 sing­ ers;18 by other accounts, there were 23 choirs,19 nine of which were parish-based. Some choirmasters did not manage to pre­ pare the program; some choirs were not released by their parish priest; the number of singers was down because they were not prepared to dedicate their summer holidays to choir practice. For these reasons, a few cities - such as Montreal - were not represented by any choral group. This festival, however, was the first occasion in which single-sex choirs made an appear­ ance. This was due to the efforts of Alice Stephens and Vytautas Radžius. The Song Festival was memorable for its impressive opening ceremony. There were services at Floly Cross Church in Chicago and at the Lutheran Teviskis Church. After the services, there was a commemoration ceremony at the Jesuit

17 Ibid. 18 Žilevičius, 1971, 169. 19 Skaisgyrys, 2005,8.

66 Gardens to honour those who died for Lithuania's freedom. Be­ fore the concert, which was to start with Jonas Dambrauskas's Malda už tėvynę (Prayer for the homeland), messages of con­ gratulation were read at length, for which the festival organiz­ ers received some criticism. The audience was anxious to move on and listen to the songs, since the composers of many works were already known to the audience from previous events. But the works of some composers - Kazimieras Viktoras Banaitis, Stasys Gailevičius, Bronius Jonušas, and Juozas Strolia - had not as yet been performed very often in public. It was obvi­ ous that the music of the new arrivals was occupying a fitting place in the repertoire of the various choirs. The Song Festival was evaluated as a successful manifestation of ethnic unity as well as a successful cultural event.20 After the event, a banquet was held in the amphitheater, during which toasts were pro­ posed to the major endeavour just undertaken and for future festivals, which should catch the attention of U.S. politicians: "Then, not just the Chicago press, but the press of the entire U.S. would feature the name of occupied Lithuania on its front page. Nothing is or can be too hard that helps Lithuanian cul­ tural activity and proclaims Lithuania's name in the world: in America, Canada or elsewhere."21 The song festivals became the basic form for mass choir concerts. There was a decline in regional song concerts and the choir performances that had been organized for various occa­ sions. Everyone waited and prepared for the great moment - the U.S. and Canadian Song Festival. Even though from one such moment to the next, five or more years would go by. Dur­ ing that time, church choirs contented themselves with liturgi­ cal singing and only rarely participated in some sort of regional songfest. In 1964, Lithuanians showcased their musical culture at the New York World's Fair. Sadly, the great difference was that they had participated in the 1939 fair as representatives of an independent country; whereas in 1964 they participated as refugees from an occupied land. On the latter occasion, a

Jakubėnns, 1961, 324. Vaičiūnas, 1960.

67 particularly important role was envisaged for church choirs, which were to prepare a solid religious program of works by Lithuanian composers.22 Unfortunately, as preparations pro­ gressed, it appears that this idea was dropped, even though parish choirs at the world's fair outnumbered secular choirs two to one: there were 21 parish choirs, with 647 choristers; and ten secular choirs, with 393 members.23 The reason for aban­ doning the idea was that the Lithuanians did not have their own pavilion. A solution had to be found: the fair organizers allowed the Lithuanians to erect a koplytstulpis (traditional wayside shrine) and to hold a Lithuanian Day in the stadium. The concert program featured mostly simple harmonized folk melodies and original songs by Lithuanian composers and some national dances. The combined choir was conducted by Algirdas Kačanauskas, Jeronimas Kačinskas, Alfonsas Mikuls­ kis, Alice Stephens and Vaclovas Verikaitis, and the orchestra was conducted by Vytautas Strolia. After the New York Fair things were quiet for a few years, until preparations started for the Third U.S. and Canadian Song Festival. This song festival was held in Chicago at the Internation­ al Amphitheatre on July 3, 1966. Forty-one choirs participated (including sixteen children's choirs and thirteen church choirs), with about twelve hundred singers. A major innovation was that, for the first time in the history of the choral festivals, chil­ dren from Lithuanian Saturday schools and individual ensem­ bles took part. Although the song festival began as usual with a service at Holy Cross Church, there were some innovations at the opening ceremony: the participation of visiting Lithuanian delegations from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bra­ zil, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and of course the U.S. and Canada. All the groups entered the hall bear­ ing their respective national flags. The nucleus of the festival choirmasters consisted of a group of graduates of the Klaipėda Conservatory - Petras Armonas, Jeronimas Kačinskas, Alfon­ sas Mikulskis and Ona Mikulskienė, who conducted the kanklės

Raila, 1963. Kreivėnas, 1966, 4, 35.

68 (a Lithuanian zither) orchestra. Former Klaipėda Conservatory- director Juozas Žilevičius was appointed honorary conductor. In addition to these, the other conductors were Alice Stephens, who opened the Song Festival with Algirdas Kačanauskas's Malda už tėvynę, Faustas Strolia and Bronius Budriūnas. The latter conducted his cantata Tėviškės namai (My native land) in the third part of the program. The song repertoire consisted of Lithuanian music classics and the works of new immigrants (composers and choirmasters). Stasys Simkus's song Lietuviais esame mes gimę (Lithuanians we were born) provided the finale for the great concert. Bronius Budriūnas's cantata presented some enormous problems for the singers. Because of the de­ mands of the piece, the singers were not able to devote enough time to learn some of the more complicated songs, and the combined choir did not always sound harmonious. But the in­ clusion of the cantata in the Song Festival program was a ques­ tion of prestige for the organizers. They wanted to show that these events were evolving in artistic stature and were not just repeat performances of well-known songs. People from other countries who attended the Song Festival were lavish in their praise for the Lithuanians. The Turkish consul said that it was a marvelous achievement. He was impressed by the strong voic­ es of the choristers and the skill of the conductors. The Hondu- ran consul said encouragingly: "I get the impression that with so many Lithuanians in the world fighting for freedom, you will win."24 Once the euphoria subsided, astute music analysts, without wishing to diminish the accomplishments of the hard­ working choirmasters and choristers and the considerable ac­ claim they had received, began to probe the weaknesses in the choral collective. They correctly observed that the choir mem­ bers were getting worn out, that there were no all male or all fe­ male choirs, which is why children's choruses were used to fill the gap, and nothing was being done to strengthen the choirs.

After this festival, the majority of choirs concerned them­ selves with their own survival and rarely arranged joint pro­ grams with others. Lithuanian song festivals did not retain their earlier status; they became just enlarged concerts of one

J. I'r. "Dainų šventė - lietuvių triumfas," Draugas, July 8,1966.

69 choir or another. And the quality indicators of the song festi­ vals began to decline. Some festival organizers began to draw attention to this and publicly raised the following issues: 1) Is it necessary to organize song festivals in Chicago only? 2) Are the choirs informed about the repertoire appropriately and on time? 3) Are suitable individuals chosen to sit on the song festival organizing committee and the repertoire sub-com­ mittee? 4) Is profit from the songs/festivals being distributed equitably? Since quite a few of the church choirs operated in Lithuanian parishes located along the East Coast of the United States, not all of them had the financial means to send members to Chicago, and meeting the needs of all the collectives was not possible. Church choirs complained that the song festival repertoire reached them too late and was beyond their artistic capabilities, which caused quite a few difficulties. The leaders recommended that more practising choirmasters should be in­ volved in the organizing committee and not people of other professions. An effort was made to take some of these obser­ vations into account. The organizers of the mass music spec­ tacles mostly wanted to maintain a stable number of singers and spectators and not let the song festivals dwindle and dis­ appear. Most of them understood that this was not just about the songs, but also about maintaining a Lithuanian identity: "Living your Lithuanian culture is the first requisite for keep­ ing alive a Lithuanian consciousness abroad."25 The Fourth U.S. and Canadian Song Festival took place in Chicago on July 4, 1971 with the participation of thirteen church choirs, fourteen secular choruses and fifteen youth choirs - in all, over thirteen hunger singers. The evening before the opening, there was a commemoration ceremony to honour those who had fallen in defence of Lithuania's freedom. The song festival commenced, as usual, with services in several churches - both Catholic and Protestant. The main part of the program took place as usual in the International Amphitheatre, which had been decorated in a Lithuanian folk-art style. Among the distinguished guests were a group of consuls from coun­ tries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Israel, Lebanon, Panama,

Girnius, 1971.

70 the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. The Song Festival Com­ mittee chairman. Dr. Gediminas Balukas, expressed the basic idea in his opening comments: Lithuanian songs are written with tears and blood, therefore in their thoughts Lithuanians abroad have to join with their sisters and brothers in Lithu­ ania and live in the same faith - longing for freedom.26 Con­ ductor Vincas Mamaitis waved his baton and led the choirs in singing the American and Lithuanian anthems. After that fol­ lowed a concert of several parts; the program consisted of the songs of various generations of Lithuanian composers, starting with those of Aleksandras Aleksius and finishing with those of Juozas Žilevičius. They were conducted by Petras Armonas, Bronius Jonušas, Algirdas Kačanauskas, Stasys Sližys, Faustas Strolia and Vaclovas Verikaitis. Bronius Budriūnas conducted his own cantata Lietuvos šviesos keliu (Along the path of Lithu­ ania's light). A special song festival publication was issued that contained not just the program, but descriptions of the choirs, lists of singers, photographs of the conductors and choristers and the texts of congratulatory messages as well. The festival was hailed as a success by the public and participants alike. Of course, the repertoire attracted some criticism, particularly in relation to the early twentieth century songs of Lithuanian composers.27 The organizers explained that more modern and complex music is more challenging for the audience. In par­ ticular, the artistic capability of the various choirs differed, so to undertake to perform a modern repertoire was not only im­ possible for the organizers, it was also unnecessary from the audience's point of view. Already after the Third U.S. and Canadian Song Festival, the question of singers for the choirs was discussed seriously in the central committee of the Lithuanian Community USA and in its festival organizing committee. The musician Jonas Zdanius had prepared a draft of a project aimed at sustaining the choirs' viability and closer links between separate collectives. Choirmas­ ter Jeronimas Ignatonis submitted a plan about how to create children's choirs - not just in large Lithuanian communities, but

J. I'r. "Didinga dainų šventė," Draugas, July 6,1971. Šimkus, 1971.

71 in small ones, too. But due to a backlog in committee work and changes in the leadership of the Lithuanian Community USA, these projects remained unimplemented. What became clear was that not even the Fourth Song Festival had managed to provide the needed impetus for strengthening the choirs, forming new collectives, or bringing together larger numbers of choristers.28 Many voices were heard saying that the choirs needed not just financial support, but also capable singers, excursions to other venues, some interchange between various parochial and secular collectives, recruitment of new singers, instrumentalists and con­ ductors, and more attention from the Lithuanian community. Apparently, it was for these reasons that the Fifth Song Festival was late - not five years after the Fourth, but seven - and it took place on July 2,1978 in Toronto, in the huge Maple Leaf Gardens arena. This time, it was the initiative of Lithu­ anian song lovers living in Canada, so the festival was named the Fifth Canadian U.S. Lithuanian Song Festival - with Cana­ da getting first mention. The organizers were Canadian Lithu­ anians, who invited U.S. Lithuanian musicians to get involved only in determining the festival's repertoire. This song festival saw the participation of 51 choirs with 1,400 singers, with par­ ticipants' ages ranging from seven-year olds to silver-haired senior citizens. There were also some visitors from Australia. The singers were grouped into children's, women's, men's, and combined choirs. More than half the performers were from church choirs. The musical part of the festival started with the Canadian and Lithuanian national anthems, conducted by Al­ ice Stephens. The festival audience heard not only well-known and previously performed songs, but also Lionginas Abarius's and Juozas Karosas's songs, likewise Alfonsas Mikulskis's rhapsody Ant Ncincuo kranto (On the banks of the Nemunas), performed by a Lithuanian folk instrument orchestra. Some of the songs were accompanied by a symphony orchestra consist­ ing of professional musicians from Toronto. Single and com­ bined choirs were conducted by Bronius Budriūnas, Stasys Gailevičius, Jonas Govėdas, Aloyzas Jurgutis, Alfonsas Mikul­ skis, Faustas Strolia and Vaclovas Verikaitis.

zs Jasaitis, 1972.

72 No one expected a high level of cultural perfection from such a mass event, but after this festival there were again com­ plaints to the organizers. Some did not like the extended cer­ emony, with its long speeches from community activists, the processions of choirs, the parade of flags, the readings of greet­ ings and presentation of distinguished guests, which took sev­ eral hours; others found the Lithuanian musical instruments inappropriate. The festival organizers' attempt to vary the con­ cert program with folk music received some criticism. Profes­ sional musicians were the least happy about the program. A conductor or two was criticized for poor conducting. The or­ ganizing committee received more complaints - about gaps in information supply, unclear financial support, hesitancy in de­ ciding which conductors would conduct what songs and who would sing them. The major problem, however, was that festival organizers paid little attention to comments that had been made in the Lithuanian press. Therefore, in preparing for the next festival, the old mistakes were made all over again. Some of the issues were actually not capable of resolution, such as finding a rep­ ertoire that fully suited everyone. Choirmaster Faustas Strolia had the impression that it was "as if two groups existed in the repertoire subcommittee: those who wanted more difficult compositions and some progress, and those who held conser­ vatively to old forms. We plan and we argue among ourselves and, generally, what wins out is a desire for self-preservation and a good instinct. In planning, you need to evaluate the strength of the choirs, which reminds us to be more cautious in regard to the more difficult choral literature."29 Notwithstanding the various contretemps, the festival organizers and participants achieved their goal - they dem­ onstrated that Lithuanians had not assimilated completely in their new land. One of the spectators later wrote: "The spies of the present occupation regime in Lithuania, and I'm sure some were present in the crowd, must have had a difficult time trying to report this event in the compulsory communist dia­ lectic way as 'one of the last kicks of the degenerate dregs of

Stroiła, 1994,30.

73 the Lithuanian bourgeoisie;' and it would have been hard for these zealots to deny the fact that now, 34 years after the last waves of refugees fled from Lithuania, these free Lithuanians are not just far from atrophying, but they have also raised to take their places one day thousands of well-educated, energetic and ethnically aware offspring, who promise to be for many more years an unpleasant thorn in the side of the invaders of their parents' homeland."30 The Sixth Song Festival took place in Chicago on July 3, 1983. It was arranged by the Lithuanian Community USA alone. The organizing committee was headed by singer Vacys Momkus. No organist was engaged. The event was attended by thirty-three adult choirs and twelve children's choirs. Church singers were now in a minority - only about ten choirs.31 The festival audience heard songs of Lithuanian composers known to most of the public; again the folk instrument orchestra led by Alfonsas Mikulskis played, performing Jonas Svedas's rhap­ sody Кіопщ nidai (Echoes of the dales), conducted by Emilija Sakadolskienė. Also performed was Stasys Simkus's cantata Atsisveikinimas su tėvyne (Farewell to the homeland). The inclu­ sion of the latter, first played in the U.S. in 1920, in the concert repertoire was a carefully considered and well-reasoned move. In commemoration of Darius and Girėnas's flight over the At­ lantic Ocean fifty years previously, a mixed choir and orchestra performed Emerikas Gailevičius's composition Lituanica. This composition had to be newly orchestrated, because only a few of the instrumental parts could be performed by musicians from Chicago. This was done creatively by Arūnas Kamins­ kas. Choirs were conducted by Alfonsas Gečas, Jonas Govėdas, Aloyzas Jurgutis, Alfonsas Mikulskis, Faustas Strolia and Da­ lia Viskontienė, while Algis Modestas conducted the orchestra that played the folk dances. President Ronald Reagan greeted festival organizers and participants by telephone, and among the distinguished guests was Illinois senator Charles Percy.

In the opinion of many, the festival program was weak and some called it a "gala flop" because of the program of old,

30 Šimkus, 1978,1. 31 J. Pr. "Lietuvių dainų šventė," Draugas, July 6,1983, 4.

74 previously heard songs, apparently chosen at random. Some spectators were unhappy about the inclusion in the repertoire of songs by Soviet regime-apologist Juozas Tallat Kelpša. They were unhappy about the exclusion of songs by Kazimieras Vik­ toras Banaitis, Julius Gaidelis, Jeronimas Kačinskas, Vytautas Klova, and Julius Starka; plus there were complaints about the sound system. Furthermore, the scheduling of the event seg­ ments was much the same as the previous festivals. More than one critic expressed the fear that the song festivals were on their way to becoming picnics with songs and dancing. Not­ withstanding the big deficiencies of the festivals and the com­ plaints conveyed to the organizers, the voice of the exiles sing­ ing out every five years amounted to a reminder to the world that the Lithuanian nation was alive and still seeking freedom for its homeland. Lithuanians fully understood that the song festival was the only way to organize a national manifestation; therefore, in spite of observing the ongoing decline in the cultural level of the choirs, they were determined to go on organizing such events. This was the only way to safeguard the song heritage and pass it on as a cultural value to the younger generation. By 1985, the Seventh Song Festival was being planned. By then, assembled choirmasters and organists were lamenting that re­ gional festivals had almost become a thing of the past, whereas they used to serve as a preparatory step for the general festival. Complaints were made to the Lithuanian Community that very little of the profit from the festivals was put back into musical culture, especially for choir purposes.32 All these factors led to the Seventh Song Festival not taking place as scheduled. In its place was arranged a commemoration ceremony for the 600th anniversary of Lithuanian Christianity at the Holy Name Ca­ thedral in Chicago, with the participation of a combined choir. The song festival was postponed until May 26, 1991. It took place in Chicago, at the University of Illinois Pavilion. By then, Lithuania had reestablished independence, so quite a few sing­ ers and orchestra musicians from Lithuania made their way to "the capital of America's Lithuanians" for this event. The

32 Sližys, 1985.

75 motto adopted for the festival was Kad liktum tu gyva! (May you thrive!), which for the emigres had become their life's polestar. The festival's executive committee chairman was singer Stasys Baras, other members being Vaclovas Momkus, Vladas Stro­ pus, Raimundas Korzonas, Faustas Strolia, Danguolė Ilginytė, Alė Steponavičienė and Dalia Kučėnienė. About thirty choirs with about five hundred singers participated in the song festi­ val; total program participants numbered about nine hundred, including about two hundred children and two hundred folk dancers. Only four church choirs from the U.S. participated. However, by then, they had done their duty. The emigres had sung. This is evidenced by the numerous secular choruses and choirs at Lithuanian Saturday schools, which flourished in the cultural life of the parishes. Most of the Seventh Song Festival singers were accompa­ nied by the symphony orchestra of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theater. The choirs were conducted by Darius Polikaitis, Jonas Govėdas, Rita Kliorienė, Dalia Viskontienė, Emilija Sakadolskienė, Gediminas Purlys, Viktoras Ralys, Česlovas Radžiūnas, Raimundas Obalis and Fausta Strolia. Petras Ar- monas was appointed honorary conductor. A new stage in the cultural life of Lithuanians abroad had begun, in which both sections of the formerly divided nations could reunite. Stasys Lozoraitis addressed the festival participants saying: "Now, as we continue the fight for our country's independence, when it seems that politics has top priority in our lives, it is impor­ tant to let our culture fully express itself and thus to display the spiritual treasures - not only of the Lithuanian nation - but of every inhabitant of Lithuania. These spiritual treasures em­ powered Lithuanians to endure incredible suffering through the darkest hours of our nation's history, and they sustained people's hopes and faith in tomorrow."33 Today, as we observe from a historical perspective the path followed by U.S. church choirs, it is not of primary im­ portance how artistically successful was one or another of the song festivals they arranged. The perpetual discussions about choice of repertoire and the artistic capabilities of the choirs

Kad liktum Tu gyva! Lietuvių muzikos šventė 1991. Chicago: 1991,12.

76 only tells us about the immigrants' desire to improve and to create for others a favourable image of an intellectual, cultur­ ally mature and freedom-loving nation. Most importantly, the untiring attention paid by church choirs to Lithuanian hymns and songs helped to preserve the national consciousness of the emigres and their children and grandchildren, and to ensure that in their inner being they did not drift too far away from Lithuania. Translated by Irena Gintilas

METINIS • VSHTAS KONCERTAS лІКЛ T\S С WFNiU Svit

SY. FETR0 iri HTi'YLO PARAFUOS BAZ'ftGIDJE I Ei-zatti! ii. J. -j ГІІ

VukaLis "SI Г ГУМ PASKUI 1MAI KRISTAUS ŽODŽIAI NUO KRYŽIAUS"

Sekmadieni. Kovo (іѴ.зісіі) 30-18,1941 i

Aru nk it Opcru

ĮŽANGA DYKAI

Kviečiam visus buoiknitliiiirinusi.-u atsilankyti ir susitelkti dvasioje ^аѵіг.іц over.to foiko.

5v, tVlru ir Гоѵѵіо Гпгвріій* СЬогяі j:

A poster for a 1941 concert by the parish choir of St. Peter and Paul's Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

77 WORKS CITED

Daužvardis, Petras. "Reikale Chorų sąjungos įžymių žmonių pareiškimai," Muzikos žinios, No. 6, 1938.

Girnius, J. "Ketvirtosios dainų šventės belaukiant." Draugas, April 26, 1971.

Jakubėnas, Vladas. "Lietuvių dainų šventė." Aidai, No. 7,1961.

Jankauskas, Z. "Lietuviai Amerikoj." Amerikos lietuvis, August 16, 1926.

Jasaitis, Jonas. Dainų švenčių garsams nutilus." Draugas, August 24, 1972.

Kreivėnas, Juozas. "Po 25 metų." Muzikos žinios, No. 2-3,1966.

Petrauskaitė, Dalia. "Lietuvių muzikinė veikla JAV 1920-1940 metais." Muzikologija, 2001, No. 2, p. 112-114.

Raila, S. "Lietuvių muzikos šventė pasaulinės parodos metu New Yorke 1964 m." Draugas, January 26,1963.

Skaisgirys, K. "Septynios dainų šventės." Muzikos žinios, No. 256, 2005.

Sližys, Stasys. "ѴІІ-tosios dainų šventės darbai ir rūpesčiai." Draugas, June 29,1985.

Strolia, Faustas. "Išeivijos chorinė kultūra - nueitas kelias." Muzikos žinios, No. 245, 1994.

Šimkus, A. "Dabarties egzaminas ir pamoka ateičiai." Draugas, July 17,1971.

. "Penktoji laisvųjų lietuvių dainų šventė Toronte." Draugas, August 5, 1978. Literatūros, meno ir mokslo priedas.

Vaičiūnas, J. "Daina iš tūkstančio krūtinių," Draugas, December 8, 1960.

Žilevičius, Juozas. "Parapijos choras ir jojo reikšmė visuomenėje," Amerika, No. 1, 1933. . Lietuvis vargonininkas išeivijoje. Brooklyn, 1971.

78