THE LITHUANIAN CHORAL TRADITION: HISTORY, CONTEXT, EDUCATION, AND PRACTICE By INETA ILGUNAITĖ JONUŠAS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Ineta Ilgunaitė Jonušas 2 To the memory of Bronius Jonušas and his music “Heaven’s blessing earns he, who chooses music as his profession.” (Martin Luther) 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When I left Lithuania, it was not so much to start a new life as to continue my old life, which revolved around music, in a new environment. I planned that I would attend an American university where I would continue my study of music and choral conducting to earn a master’s and doctoral degrees. My hope was to one day teach others to “make music” the way I had heard it most of my life in Lithuania. Now, after eight years of studying music in Lithuania and five years of graduate study in America, it seems that I have been blessed with the best of both worlds for having had the opportunity to learn from so many eminent Lithuanian and American “music makers.” In Lithuania, at the Vilnius Tallat-Kelpša Conservatory, while still a teenager, I was fortunate in being able to take my first lessons in conducting from Professor Vytautas Žvirblis, whose name will probably not mean much to anyone but the students who learned from his graceful hands. Later at the Lithuanian Academy of Music, I learned from Professor Vaclovas Radžiūnas, my major professor, and Jonas Aleksa, conductor of the Lithuanian State Opera. At Florida State University, Dr. André Thomas and Dr. Rodney Eichenberger taught and inspired me before passing the baton to Dr. Will Kesling at the University of Florida. It was here at the University of Florida where I received the biggest share of my musical education, particularly in the opportunity to be allowed to be the conductor of the University of Florida Women’s Chorale and to serve as instructor for a variety of courses. This chance to conduct and teach I owe mainly to my committee chair, Dr. Russell Robinson, and co-chair, Dr. Will Kesling. Indeed, I would not have left the warmth of FSU’s musical climate had it not been for Maestro Kesling, who has been an inspiration to me as a choral conductor, from whom I have learned more than I can 4 express in words. Dr. Robinson, the area head of music education and an inspiring conductor in his own right, not only patiently nurtured me through my three years on campus, but was always there to give valuable advice about how to make this dissertation better. At the mention of education, I will forever be grateful to Dr. John Bengston, whose graduate course in psychology opened up my mind to see things differently. Certainly this dissertation would not have been possible without the expert guidance and editorial help of my esteemed advisor in so many things, Dr. Charles Hoffer. Finally, I would be remiss not to thank Dr. John Duff for his help in many matters, not least in finding me deserving of the Elizabeth van Horne Fellowship. And speaking of money, the U.F. Auzenne Dissertation Award and a grant from the Lithuanian Foundation were much appreciated. But people come first, and a special thanks to Robena Cornwell and Michele Willbanks of the music library for their unstinting and frequent help. Research in Lithuania was greatly aided by Laima Rutkausienė, Policy Specialist in charge of developmental policy at the Lithuanian Ministry of Education’s elementary and middle school department, Leonas Narbutis, Cultural Advisor to the President of Lithuania. Composer, Conductor of ‘Jauna Muzika’ and Professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, Vaclovas Augustinas, his colleagues, Professors Viktoras Masevičius and Laurynas Vakaris Lopas, probably were relieved thinking they had seen the last of me when I graduated from the Lithuanian Music Academy, only to have me return and continue pestering them with questions, which they graciously took the time to answer. Asta Mirinaitė Bielinskienė, my friend and my former classmate at the LMA, later musicologist at the Mažvydas Library in Vilnius, found time in between 5 caring for her newborn baby to send me books whenever I asked. Similarly, Borisas Bakunas, Professor of Educational Psychology at the International Renewal Institute/St. Xavier University, Chicago, acted as not only my driver and guide in Chicago, but also checked books out of the Mažvydas Library whenever he was in Vilnius, mailing them for me to read and trusting me to mail them back to him before they were due. My friend Lina Valionienė mailed me music scores, and Kristina Šernaitė, Head Librarian of the Music Department at the Mažvydas Library, helped by finding recordings suitable to include in the discography. In Chicago, Arvydas Brunius not only kept me supplied with good Lithuanian food, but regaled me with songs of the Partisans, which he sang long ago when to sing them was to risk a trip to Siberia. Quite amazingly and exceeding all bounds of hospitality, Reda and Vytas Daubaris, custodians of the Žilevičius-Kreivėnas Musical Archives and the Lithuanian Youth Center, let me stay in their home on the Center’s premises to enable me to have around-the-clock access to the archives. Thanks also to each one of the staff of the archives: Skirmantė Miglinas, Director of Archyves, Danutė Petrulis, Publications Editor, Vytas Beleška, Director of the Musicology Archives, Kristina Lapienytė, the Periodicals Department’s Publications Editor, and Petras Petrutis, Public Liaison and Audio-Visual Department Head, who kept me mesmerized with his real life stories while I scanned the articles and books. Last but not least, I owe it all to my husband, Algirdas Jonušas. I can’t thank enough my committee members, supporters, friends, and family for all the assistance provided, but I alone remain responsible for the contents of this dissertation, including any errors and, realistically speaking, so many omissions. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 10 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 13 The Origins of Lithuania’s Singing Tradition ........................................................... 14 Song in Lithuania in the Modern Era ....................................................................... 17 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 22 Before World War II ................................................................................................ 22 During the Soviet Occupation: 1940-41, 1944-1991 ............................................... 27 Soviet Era Music Education Literature .................................................................... 33 Post-Soviet Era Literature ....................................................................................... 35 Doctoral Dissertations ...................................................................................... 38 Background Literature ...................................................................................... 41 Choral Music Articles ........................................................................................ 43 Articles on Lithuanian Composers .................................................................... 46 Articles on Post-Soviet Education in Lithuania ................................................. 49 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 51 The Centuries Preceding Soviet Rule ..................................................................... 51 The Žilevičius-Kreivėnas Musical Archives ............................................................. 52 The Period of Soviet Occupation ............................................................................ 57 After 1990 ............................................................................................................... 60 4 MUSIC EDUCATION AND CHORAL MUSIC FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO 1795 ........................................................................................................................ 64 Late Middle Ages to the Early Renaissance ........................................................... 64 From the 16th Century to 1795 ............................................................................... 67 Public Choral Singing and Dainos .......................................................................... 72 5 MUSIC EDUCATION AND CHORAL MUSIC UNDER TSARIST RULE ................. 76 Education ................................................................................................................ 76 Musical Life in the 19th Century .............................................................................. 79 7 Music Education ..................................................................................................... 81 Intensification of Choral Activity .............................................................................. 84 6 MUSIC EDUCATION AND CHORAL MUSIC, 1918-1940 .....................................