Aidija Chamber Choir Presents a Collection of Sacred Music

Aidija Chamber Choir Presents a Collection of Sacred Music

The Music Information Centre Lithuania and MusicLithuania.com have launched a new project aimed at publishing collections of sheet music and recordings featuring some of the great music by Lithuanian composers performed by local choirs and other musical groups.

The series starts with the Aidija Chamber Choir established in 1989 and lead ever since by its artistic director, Romualdas Gražinis. The choir, which gives over thirty performances a year, is known for a surprisingly broad repertoire ranging from Gregorian chant to music of the 21st century: choral miniatures of different styles, large vocal works, a capella choral music, and compositions for choir with an orchestra or instrumental ensemble.

The Aidija Chamber Choir has been a particularly keen performer of Lithuanian music and has taken part in the premieres of many remarkable compositions by local composers. In response to the open invitation by the Music Information Centre Lithuania, the choir has proposed the release of digital sheet music by several Lithuanian composers featuring their sacred compositions, including  Atmink Viešpatie (Remember This, O Lord) by Algirdas Martinaitis; O meile skaisčiosios širdies (Oh, the Love of the Virgin Heart) by Vidmantas Bartulis; Oremus by Feliksas Bajoras. This should contribute to the broader distribution of religious music and reveal the most recent trends in new sacred music written by Lithuanian composers. Find the collection here: Sacred Music by Choir Aidija

In 2020 the Music Information Centre Lithuania, in partnership with the Aidija Choir, released a vinyl recording containing two folklore-based oratorios by the composer Bronius Kutavičius (1932–2021), Paskutinės pagonių apeigos (Last pagan rites) and Iš jotvingių akmens (From the Jotvingian stone). For the choir and its artistic director Romualdas Gražinis, the recently deceased composer has been a source of authentic inspiration that has helped to shape the choir and has daringly led it through the maze of his own graphic scores. More

 In 2021, two collections of songs for children by Bronius Kutavičius were released, Karakumų asilėlis (Little Karakum Donkey) and Giedantis vėžys (Singing Lobster). The score has been edited by Romualdas Gražinis who confesses that Kutavičius’s musical language and the composer’s attitude toward the process of music making has made a considerable impact on his own interests in music.