JAV lietuvių bažnytiniai chorai – dvasingumo ir tautiškumo puoselėtojai

Abstract

XIX a. JAV apsigyvenę lietuviai iš karto ėmė aktyviai reikštis muzikinės kultūros baruose. Ypač jie mėgo dalyvauti bažnytiniuose ir pasaulietiniuose choruose. Dauguma lietuvių emigrantų priklausė parapijų chorams, nes būti lietuviu reiškė kartu būti ir kataliku. Todėl bažnytiniai chorai tapo pagrindiniais dvasingumo ir tautiškumo puoselėtojais. Šio straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti įvairiapusę bažnytinių chorų veiklą religinės ir pasaulietinės muzikos baruose.

The concert life was the most intensive during the period between the World Wars. After the World War II there appeared more strong secular choirs. Because of that, and also of church organists getting old, church choirs had to limit themselves only to the religious services. But some of them, because of new and Professional choir directors, were continuing the tradition of religious music concerts. In the beginning of the 20th century Lithuanians started to hold concerts of united church choirs. These were the beginnings of the national song festivals, and they attracted very many people. One of the first united choir concerts was held on the 24th of September, 1914, in Chicago. Then, by the initiative of a church organist and choir director Antanas Pocius, the cantata “Brothers” by Česlovas Sasnauskas was performed. After 1918, when Lithuania became independent republic, the events of this kind became more popular. The countrymen showed the greatest interest in mass choir festivities, where they had to represent themselves as the ethnic community among foreigners. It was Lithuanian Days, Song Days, and Song Festivals. One of the first Lithuanian Days took place in 1926 in Philadelphia, during the city‘s 150th anniversary. The great choir movement began in 1930, celebrating 500 years after the death of Lithuanian great duke Vytautas Magnus. After the World War II, The Lithuanian Organist League initiated the Lithuanian song festivals of whole USA and Canada. From 1956 to 1991, seven of such song festivals took place. Church choir participated in these events in especially large numbers. But because of their gradual declining, the song festivals became less significant, the repertoire became poorer. The regional song festivals were not held anymore, just very few single choirs managed to give some religious music concerts. Because Lithuanians knew, that song festivals were the only chance for mass national gatherings, they held these song festivals despite of the decline of the choir culture. The seventh Lithuanian Song Festival took place in 1991. At that time, the state of Lithuania had regained its independence. The following song festivals started taking place in Lithuania, and until today they are being attended by Lithuanian choirs from various countries of the world. Since then, they were called World Lithuanian Song Festivals. The new Lithuanian emigrants replaced the old choir directors and church organists, trying to revive or establish new church choirs.