Renata Dubinskaitė (mezzo-soprano)
Jonė Punytė-Svigarienė (piano)
The majority of the program “Canticle of the Bird” consists of songs by contemporary Lithuanian women composers, conveying emotionally powerful and spiritually profound stories and themes. The program’s title was inspired by a Lithuanian coastal region legend about a woman-bird with a tragic fate and a theater performance based on this story, featuring Raminta Šerkšnytė’s song cycle “Songs of Saula”. Where does the woman-bird long to fly? What does she call out to the sun and sky? And what holds a mother’s heart to the earth, amidst the eternal struggles of human life? Her lament for her children and the world is painful yet luminous, filled with hope.
This cry echoes also in Dalia Raudonikytė’s composition, set to the words of Saint Augustine. What does she long for—divine light, mercy, or love? Alongside these dramatic and expressive pieces, the songs of Zita Bružaitė and Loreta Narvilaitė immerse the listener in contemplative states, painting poetic winter landscapes in the hues of snow. However, in both composers’ portrayals, winter is also filled with deep longing—where nostalgia, melancholy, and anticipation intertwine, waiting for emotions to be reborn with nature.
In addition to these women’s creative expressions, the program also includes works by male composers, depicting vivid portraits of women and conveying their emotions through their own texts. Inspired by Old Testament texts of “Song of Songs”, Anatolijus Šenderovas crafts the portrait of Shulammite—a mysterious Eastern beauty, the Beloved and the Bride, whose image sanctifies both spiritual and physical love. She passionately calls out to her beloved, using the most beautiful names.
In contrast to this idealized woman, Algirdas Martinaitis’ composition, using elements of caricature and grotesque, portrays the storm of emotions in a young girl’s heart, where self-created ideals clash with rising, yet unfamiliar, desires.
By focusing on the inner world of women’s experiences and their creative expression, “Canticle of the Bird” reflects various facets of love, motherhood, longing, and the fragility of existence. These themes unfold through music in relation to mythology, folklore, religion, and Lithuanian poetry.
RENATA DUBINSKAITĖ, mezzo-soprano, first studied art history and theory at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and in 2011 she defended her doctoral dissertation in art history. In 2015 she completed her bachelor’s studies in opera singing at the Lithuanian and Music Theatre Academy and in 2023 she completed her master’s studies at the Vytautas Magnus University Academy of Music with Prof. Vladimiras Prudnikovas.
R. Dubinskaitė is the principal soloist of the Vilnius based international early music ensemble Canto Fiorito (since 2013), the producer of this ensemble and the Kretinga Early Music Festival, as well as the singer and artistic director in the Lithuanian earl musiv ensembles Duo Barocco and Lux Maris. With the French ensemble I Gemelli she sang in prestigious concert halls – Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica Catalana, as well as in the opera houses of Seville and Aix-en-Provence. With the ensemble Canto Fiorito she sang solo recitals and concert programs in Stockholm, Brussels, Namur, Oslo, Trondheim, Salzburg, Vienna, Brighton, Rostock and other European cities. Since 2019 Dubinskaitė sings also with the Namur Chamber Choir (Belgium) and the early music ensemble Cappella Mediterranea (France) in opera productions and concerts in prestigious European concert halls, such as the Royal Chapel of Versailles, the Brussels Bozar, the Paris Radio France Hall, the Lyon Auditorium, the Salzburg Opera Festival Hall, Dijon Opera, etc. and in the most important European early music festivals such as Oude Muziek in Utrech, MA Festival in Brugge, Ambronay, Sable and many others.
In 2021 The singer’s solo album “Barbara Strozzi. La voce sola” was released by “Brilliant Classics” (Netherlands), the CD recordings were broadcast on “BBC Radio”, “France Musique”, US and Australian radio programs, and received enthusiastic international critical acclaim.
Pianist JONĖ PUNYTĖ graduated from the Kaunas Juozas Naujalis Music Gymnasium with a degree in piano, and completed piano studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In 2001-2006, she interned at the Stuttgart Higher School of Music and Theatre, and in 2004-2006, she studied the subtleties of hammerklavier – an authentic early piano – at the Trossingen Higher School of Music. Since 2022, she has been continuing her doctoral studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
She is currently working as a teacher at the National M.K. Čiurlionis School of Arts and the Lithuanian Academy of Theatre and Music.
The pianist successfully participated in competitions: she won 1st place in the chamber ensemble competition in Vilnius (2000), 2nd place in the Vilnius 1st International Singers and Concertmasters Competition (2005), 1st prize and a special prize for the best performed contemporary work in the Lied category at the 6th International F. Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz (with singer W. Nakaso, 2006, Austria).
R.Punytė participated in festivals in Lithuania, Germany, and Italy, and played with the LMTA and VMU orchestras. The performer pays much attention to contemporary and chamber music, especially the Lied genre.
Dedicated to the anniversaries of composers in 2025: Anatolijus Šenderovas (80 years), Loreta Narvilaitė (60 years) and Raminta Šerkšnytė (50 years)
Programme
Raminta Šerkšnytė (1975)
„Songs of Saula“ (2004), text by Albina Žiupsnytė
I Lullaby of Saula
II Fairy-tale
III Lullaby
IV Prayer
V Recitative
VI Cry
VII Lament
Loreta Narvilaitė (1965)
„Snow“ (2000), text by Henrikas Radauskas
„Winter’s Woman“ (2025), text by Leonardas Gutauskas
„Autumn in Palanga“ (2022), text by Sigitas Geda
Anatolijus Šenderovas (1945-2019)
„Songs of Shulammite“ (1992), text of „Song of Songs“ in Hebrew language
I Song
II Song
Zita Bružaitė (1966)
Sonnet VII „Winter’s Fairy-Tale“ (2007), text by Henrikas Radauskas
Dalia Raudonikytė-With (1970-2018)
„You Enlightened Me“ (2016), text by St. Augustin
Algirdas Martinaitis (1950)
„Elixir of Love” (2025), text by Marcelijus Martinaitis