On August 13th, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic hosted a two-part concert, which presented works in the style of World music, created by Lithuanian composers at the request of the International Festival “Pokrovskie Kolokola” from 2009 to 2021. The idea to show a retrospective of the best parts of the “Pokrovskie Kolokola'' arose in connection with the anniversary of the festival. "Retrospective" brought back the most vivid memories from the past concerts. Some parts of works by Linas Rimša, Gediminas Rimkus Rimkevičius, Jonas Jurkūnas, Zita Bružaitė, Algirdas Martinaitis, Laimis Vilkončius were performed.

The concert also featured a premiere - this time the musical tribute “There was such a day”, created by the composer Linas Rimša, in collaboration with Gintautas Venislovas and Jievaras Jasinskis. The work is dedicated to the Karaite people and their history. Some of the poetic compositions belong to Simonas Firkovičius - a figure of the Karaite culture, poet, public figure, clergyman, who made an invaluable contribution to the preservation of the community and the Karaite language in the difficult conditions of the twentieth century. His creations are a rich source of knowledge about the peculiarities, morality, and customs of the Karaite people.

To implement this important mission, the organizers have assembled a large team of musicians - true masters of their craft.

Irena Zakharova, producer of the “Pokrovskie Kolokola” festival:

“The Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra is a long-term partner of our festival. We cannot imagine the future of the festival without these wonderful friends and musicians. We are very grateful to them for the many years of our joint work!

A participant in all world music projects is the folklore ensemble "Arinuška" - a team of experienced singers who have been studying the traditional culture of different nations for more than 20 years, a Russian folklore ensemble, singing in many languages. They just learned to perceive the culture of different nations as their own. They were always interested in everything. And now they are singing in the Karaite language, as in their native language... They got through two parts, well done!

The composition of the soloists was determined by the composer Linas Rimsha. And he was so right! He invited two wonderful ethnic singing performers - Luka Mebonia from Georgia and Arina Zakharova, as well as classical singers - Dovilė Kazonaitė and Norwegian singer Stein Skjervold. It was an interesting experiment, when soloists, each in his own manner, perform their parts, and then merge into duets and the final quartet. And it turned out that ethnic and classical vocals can sound together! And then beautiful overtones and interesting harmonies appear!

The percussion ensemble "Hand voices" added many spectacular elements that created a special feeling - sounds of approaching thunder, the rhythm of footsteps, accentuation of certain rhythms, especially climaxes.

An improvised violin solo performed by virtuoso Džeraldas Bidva gave a special flavor to the entire concert. Jurgis Sakalauskas and Tomas Varnagiris (guitar, bouzouki), Julia Morozova (piano, organ, celesta), Giedrius Gelgotas (flute), Sergei Starostin (folk wind instruments, vocals) - all these musicians are well known in the musical world. With such a team, there is no need to worry about the success of the concert.

And when we all are under conductor’s Modestas Pitrenas' control, the music becomes even more colorful. Because the maestro, before bringing a piece to the stage, deeply analyzes it, takes an interest in the manner of performance of a particular folk song in order to set the right tone for the orchestra. This is a very delicate work, not every conductor can do it. We saw this during rehearsals - this is such a lesson for everyone! For our ensemble "Arinushka", for every musician! In World music, you can't write a lot in sheet music, but you have to see what is left behind the notes. Modestas feels this subtly. That is why we all have such success! "

The concert has ended, but the audience is still sending their compliments. And for us, musicians, this is very important. Your smiles, support, and applause are important. The attention of the city leadership is also important - and we had it. Vice-Mayor of Vilnius Edita Tamošiūnaitė wished all the participants of the concert and the organizers of the festival a happy creative path and noted the great contribution of the festival to the cultural life of the capital.

The organizers of the concert - the Lithuanian National Minority Folklore and Ethnography Center, the School of Slavic Traditional Music.

Partners - the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Council for Culture of Lithuania, the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Vilnius City Municipality and the Lithuanian National Philharmonic.