The Catalogue of Non-governmental Organisations of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vilnius County


The sutartinės chanters’ group “Ūtara”

  • Address: Kopūstų g. 15, 10103 Vilnius
  • Phone +37068511406
  • E-mail limilasiene@gmail.com
  • Fields of activity Nematerialaus kultūros paveldo / tradicinės kultūros puoselėjimas ir populiarinimas
    Organisation of events
  • Legal status: Association
  • Founded in: 2010
  • Type of organisation: Ensemble, performers group

About organisation

Members of the sutartinės (traditional polyphonic songs) chanters’ group “Ūtara” started chanting 30 years ago in the folklore group “Ratilio”of Vilnius University. Later, all of them continued chanting for over 10 years in the folklore group “Vydraga”. Four chanters reunited again in 2012 naming their group “Ūtara” (a verb ūtaroti meaning to talk, to chat, to story tell). Nowadays they meet not only to chant sutartinės, but also to foster close communication traditions among women. Thus archaic, mysterious, enchanting meanings of sutartinės are brought closer to the contemporary. “We could never talk that openly if we hadn’t chant sutartinės” – the chanters of “Ūtara” confess. “After many years of studying the subtleties of traditional singing, fieldwork in villages listening, recording authentic singing we have understood that sutartinės like nothing else unite us in that particular monotonic sound, sutartinės appease, comfort, smooth like a chant from a very far past (...) (“Pasaulio lietuvis”, October 2017). The group chants authentic sutartinės, sings feminine Lihuanian folk songs, gives concerts at Lithuanian festivals and abroad, takes part in projects, organises creative seminars of sutartinės, experiments with performers of other genres.

Projects

The international (Lithuania, South Africa, Greece) project “Unexpected Touches” (2017) by the group “Ūtara” and composer Martynas Kuliavas ; Participation in the performance of oratorio “Vilnius’ Cronicles” (composer Gediminas Rimkus Rimkevičius) (2017); Participation in the composer’s Brigita Bublytė international (Lithuania, Spain, Germany, Portugal) project “Flamenco and sutartinės marriage“ (2015); Audio and video records: CD Note Lithuania: Folk/World. “Ūtara“. Sutartinė „Žydėjo rožė”. Music Information Centre Lithuania, 2017; Documentary film “Sutarmenko” (author Brigita Bublytė, director Armas Rudaitis, director of photography Martynas Norvaišas) (2017). CD “Ūtara”. Sutartinės. “KiskiuKopustu records”, 2017. Presentation at the Marija and Jurgis Šlapeliai Museum (Vilnius) (2018) in cooperation with sound artist Tomas Verbaitis; The group “Ūtara” Advent period concert at Saint Jacob and Philip Church (Vilnius) (2018); Annual traditional concerts at festivals “Skamba skamba kankliai”, “Atataria lamzdžiai”, “Sutarysma”. The concert at the event “Straw Magic” of the Vilnius Centre of Traditional Culture (2019).

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