Textiles and Dress

Folk songs of Lithuania

Lithuanian folk songs (Lithuanian: liaudies dainos) are often noted for not only their mythological content but also their relating of historical events. Lithuanian folk music includes romantic songs, wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war songs. Traditional songs are performed either solo or in groups, in unison or harmonized, primarily in thirds (tūravoti - "to harmonize"). There are three ancient styles of singing in Lithuania that are connected with ethnographical regions: monophony, multi-voiced homophony, heterophony and polyphony. Monophony mostly occurs in southern (Dzūkija), southwest (Suvalkija) and eastern (Aukštaitija) parts of Lithuania. Multi-voiced homophony is widespread in the entire Lithuania, and is most archaic in the western part (Samogitia). Polyphonic songs are common in the renowned sutartinės tradition of Aukštaitija and occur only sporadically in other regions. Many Lithuanian dainos are performed in the minor key. Parts of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring are based on Lithuanian folk melodies, as are works by many Lithuanian composers, including Juozas Naujalis and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.

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See also

• ▸American frontier
• ▸Fox
• ▸Dance in China

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