Music Index

This article examines how at the close of 20th century and beginning of the 21st century the ethnic music of Lithuania Minor, the ethnically Lithuanian area of the historical East Prussia, was reconstructed and developed. It goes into detail on the activities of Klaipėda district-based folklore collectives who considered it their mission or at least one of their goals to preserve the musical folklore of the Lietuvininkai, the name of Lithuanians in East Prussia. The study surveys in detail the current results of Lithuanian research on the resurrection of ethnic music, showing the folklore ensembles of the Klaipėda district were a significant part of the folklore movement which arose in the 1970s. Regional Klaipėda cultural and educational institutions began preserving and systematizing the Lietuvininkai musical folklore tradition in the latter half of the 20th century, which basically was taken over and continued by folklore ensembles and separate individuals, while the Lietuvininkai themselves did not take part in that activity.

In the Shrove Tuesday costumed processions in fiemaitija, the beggars were and are among the main characters, as attested by the distribution area of the mask, by the name of the Shrovetide beggars given to the whole group of masked people, and the relative abundance of the costumed beggarsí songs. This study examines part of fiemaitijan Shrove Tuesday carnival singing repertoire: parodies of religious hymns and folk songs, which the performers called hymns and which were performed in imitation of sacred singing. The present analysis identifies their features, origins and function at the Shrove Tuesday carnival.

The research seeks to disclose relations between musical activity and moral culture of senior students. Peculiarities of musical activity and of moral culture of senior students, based on the research data are presented and their interrelations are disclosed. Differences between the levels of moral culture of students from different types of schools were estimated. The moral culture of students from choral singing schools was found to be more mature.