Label:Dangus – DNG 056 Format: CD, Digipak, Album Country:Lituania Released:2017 Genre:Folk Style:Folk, Polyphonic Chants, Field Recording
Lituanian polyphonic chants (sutartinės) about bees. PURE SOUND IN NATURE.
Recorded at the Ancient Beekeeping Museum in Stripeikiai, Ignalina District, Lituania.
Sutartinės – a multipart chanting tradition – represents a unique and most archaic layer of Lithuanian folklore, inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The group Trys Keturiose (Three in Four), led by the renowned ethnomusicologist Prof. Dr. Daiva Vyčinienė, are the most prominent, high-caliber performers of sutartinės, having researched this ancient tradition for decades. Their project Bitela is dedicated to a specific genre of sutartinės – songs about bees, which are considered sacred beings in traditional Lithuanian culture, symbolizing harmony and prosperity.
The album recordings were captured in a natural outdoor environment, preserving the ambient sounds of birds, insects, and whispering trees to provide the listener with an authentic experience of the magic of sutartinės. Consequently, Bitela marks a significant milestone in the recording and perception of folklore.
The CD and digital download include a booklet with comprehensive descriptions of beekeeping traditions and the phenomenon of polyphonic folklore in Lithuania.
