INTERNATIONAL KAUNAS CARILLON FESTIVAL | 2023

Let all of Kaunas resound! 
The colorful beginning of autumn is announced by the 7th International Kaunas Carillon Music Festival We invite you to spend the first weekend of September in the magnificent sound of bells.

This year, the festival will host carillon players from Japan, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Performers from Klaipėda and Kaunas will also greet the city's residents and guests from the carillon tower.

Come to get acquainted with one of the most complex instruments – during the festival, you will hear not only classical compositions but also impressive arrangements of well-known melodies and a duet of bells and electronic music.

PROGRAM:

SEPTEMBER 2

14:00 | Urtė Krutkevičiūtė ir Vilius Aleinikovas (LT)

SEASIDE POSTCARDS OR STEPS FROM ANOTHER SUMMER

The young carillonneurs from Klaipėda, Urtė Krutkevičiūtė and Vilius Aleinikovas, will present the listeners with a dreamy program, previously performed on the Klaipėda Carillon, akin to a postcard sent from the seaside. The repertoire will encompass technically complex and masterful pieces such as “Dream” by Juozas Naujalis, “The Bell Speaks to Silence” by Loreta Narvilaitė, and others. Additionally, the performers have enriched the program with compositions that are played at a leisurely pace, evoking a sense of tranquility. This will provide the listeners with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy musical selections from the popular film “Amélie of Montmartre”.

Urtė Krutkevičiūtė’s programme:

• Yann Tiersen  –  La Valse d'Amélie
• Yann Tiersen –  Sur le fil (duo with V. Aleinikovu)
• Yann Tiersen – Comptine d'un Autre Été (duo with V. Aleinikovu)
• Max Richter – She was running (Monika Kazmierczak’s arrangements for carillon)

Vilius Aleinikovas’ programme:

• J. Naujalis – Svajonė (The Dream)
• M. K. Čiurlionis – Prelude F-dur/a-moll 
• G. Kuprevičius – Prelude tribute to M. K. Čiurlionis
• A. I. Marcello/J. S. Bach – Adagio from Oboe Concerto d-moll
• G. D’hollander – Dreaming 
• Katarzyna Kwiecien-Dtugosz – A Lullaby for…
• Loreta Narvilaitė  – Varpas prabyla į tylą (The Bell Wakes Up to Silence)

14:40 | Richard de Waardt (NL) ir Dina Verheyden (BE)

MOVIES & POP

The duo of carillonneurs, Richard de Waardt and Dina Verheyden, cherished by enthusiasts of European carillon music, have curated a program that is poised to enchant admirers of both popular culture and music. Both artists are alumni of the Mechelen Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn”. Since 2010, Dina has been dedicated to teaching music theory and carillon performance at the school, while Richard oversees “Daar Zit Muziek In”, a company dedicated to integrating more music into the education system.

During the festival, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to musical tracks from films such as “Star Wars” and “The Godfather”, the iconic computer game “Super Mario Bros”, as well as compositions by renowned bands like “Radiohead” and “Coldplay”, alongside other familiar tunes. All arrangements for carillon by Richard de Waardt.

• John Williams – Star Wars (Main theme, Imperial March)
• John Williams – Theme from Jaws 
• John Williams – Theme from Schindler’s List
• Nino Rota – The Godfather medley
• Hans Zimmer – Pirates of the Caribbean (He’s a pirate) 
• Koji Kondo – Super Mario Brothers (Main theme) 
• Leonard Cohen – Take this waltz
• Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah 
• Coldplay – Clocks 
• Coldplay – Fix You
• Radiohead –Paranoid Android
• John Miles – Music (was my first love)

17:00 | Raimundas Eimontas (karilijonas), Roberta Daugėlaitė (vokalas/elektronika), Marius Paulikas (elektronika) (LT)

ELECTRIC SHOCK

The original piece will be performed by the co-authors: Raimundas Eimontas, a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and experimental music and performance creator; Roberta Daugėlaitė, a pianist and laureate of international and national competitions, a member of the early music vocal ensemble “In Campo Aperto” and the international women’s vocal ensemble “Graces and Voices”; and Marius Paulikas, an electronic/experimental music and sound art creator, film sound director, and composer. The music is based on the motifs of Raimunda's poems. This composition is exclusively crafted for bells, vocals, and electronics, structured as a suite that embodies the essence of ancient dances. It features tribal, tri-timbral, tri-factorial, and tri-rhythmic polyphony, with a vocal layer on top, an electronic layer at the bottom, and a unifying carillon layer in the middle. The philosophical foundation is reminiscent of a raga: the voice representing humanity and the vicissitudes of its existence; the carillon symbolizing the flow of time and rhythm; while electronics encompass the all-encompassing concept of ETERNITY.

Electric Shock suite

• ElektroAllemande
• ElektroCourante      
• ElektroSarabande
• ElektroGigue

• Kiekvieną Rytą (Every Morning) ( lyrics R. Eimontas, music R. Daugėlaitė)

21:00 | Toru Takao (JP/NL)

MUSIC FOR PEACE

Toru Takao, a musician who graduated in the Netherlands and presently resides in Germany, dedicates a significant portion of his life to a dual ambassadorial role: on one hand, he introduces carillon culture in Japan, and on the other hand, he infuses European carillon music with the sounds and cultural essence of Japan. Throughout his performance, he will not only present works by Japanese composers but also feature compositions inspired by Lithuanian folklore and Japanese animation.

Ukrainian Music

• Oi u luzi chervona kalyna

• Heiwa no Kane (Bells of Peace)

Song Dedicated to Chiune Suguhara

• Martí Carreras Almar – Cant per a la Pau (A Song for Peace)

Lithuanian Folk Music and Original Carillon Music from Japan

• Negiedokit Gaideliai (Do Not Crow Dear Roosters)
• Mitsuyo Moriya – Carillon Dancing in the Sky
• O jau Mano Mielas (Oh My Darling)
• Naoto Omasa – The Phoenix Descends on a Tower
• Tyliai Leidžias (Silently Descends)
• Tetsuro Kubo – Echos lointains dans la ciel (Faraway Echoes in the Sky)

Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto 

• Ryuichi Sakamoto – Aqua 

Carillon plus Electronic Sound (except improvisation)

• Go Okaw – Onigajyo (Battle between Good and Evil)
• Go Okawa – Sanctuaire
• Improvisation based on Gagaku Melody – Etentaku (Music from the Heaven)
• Martí Carreras Almar – Celesti Lumine (digital sound version)

SEPTEMBER 3

12:00 | Austėja Staniunaitytė-Proietta (LT)

DEAR MEMORIES

Austėja Staniunaitytė-Proietta, a renowned master of carillon music in Kaunas, will present compositions composed and arranged specifically for the carillon by the seasoned Kaunas carillonneur Viktoras Kuprevičius and his son Giedrius Kuprevičius. These pieces were performed by the Kuprevičius family between 1957-1989, making the melodies resonate anew after a substantial lapse of time.

• M.K. Čiurlionis – Canon D-moll
• M.K. Čiurlionis – Prelude C-dur
• V. Kuprevičius –  X X X
• V. Kuprevičius –  Linksmieji varpai (Happy Bells)
• V. Kuprevičius – Pajūriais, pamariais (Through Seas, Through Lagoons)
• V. Kuprevičius – Funebre
• V. Kuprevičius – Nuotaika (Mood)
• V. Kuprevičius – Atsimenu, svaigo alyvos (I Remember, Lilacs Bloomed)
• V. Kuprevičius – Vestuvių maršas (Wedding March)
• V. Kuprevičius – Saulės kūdikėlis (Sun’s Baby)
• V. Kuprevičius – Varpų valsas (Waltz of the Bells)
• V. Kuprevičius – Liūdna muzika (Sad Music)
• G. Kuprevičius – Veronika’s romance from musical “Veronika”
• G. Kuprevičius – Fly, fly to Lithuanian! from musical “Devynbėdžiai”
• V. Kuprevičius – Malūnėlis (Little Mill)

12:40 | Richard de Waardt (NL) ir Dina Verheyden (BE)

CLASSICAL BELLS

The pair of performers will conclude the festival with a three-part classical music concert featuring segments titled “Opening Fireworks”, “Travelling”, and “Dessert”. Audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the familiar melodies of composers such as G. F. Handel, K. Debussy, G. Fauré, and other internationally acclaimed musical figures. All arrangements for carillon by Richard de Waardt.

Opening Fireworks

• G. F. Händel – Ouverture from The Royal Fireworks

Travelling 

• Agustín Barrios Mangoré - El Último Trémolo (Una limosnita por el amor De Dios)
• Agustín Barrios Mangoré  – Wals Op. 8 No. 4
• Joaquín Rodrigo – Concerto d’Aranjuez (Adagio)
• Claude Debussy – Children’s Corner (Jimbo’s Lullaby, Golliwogg’s Cakewalk)
• Gabriel Fauré – Pavane From Masques Et Bergamasques

Dessert

• Rabih Abou-Khalil – Arabian Waltz

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The event is FREE of charge.
Event organized by: Kaunas Artists' House
Event funded by: Kaunas City Municipality and Lithuanian Council for Culture
Event supported by: Kaunas Pilnas Kultūros (“Kaunas Full of Culture”), Vytautas the Great War Museum