Lithuanian folk songs () are often noted for not only their mythological content but also their relating of historical events.

Lithuanian folk music includes romantic songs, wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war songs. Traditional songs are performed either solo or in groups, in unison or harmonized, primarily in thirds ( - "to harmonize"). There are three ancient styles of singing in Lithuania that are connected with ethnographical regions: monophony, multi-voiced homophony, heterophony and polyphony. Monophony mostly occurs in southern (Dzūkija), southwest (Suvalkija) and eastern (Aukštaitija) parts of Lithuania. Multi-voiced homophony is widespread in the entire Lithuania, and is most archaic in the western part (Samogitia). Polyphonic songs are common in the renowned tradition of Aukštaitija and occur only sporadically in other regions. Many Lithuanian are performed in the minor key.

Parts of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring are based on Lithuanian folk melodies, as are works by many Lithuanian composers, including Juozas Naujalis and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.

Etymology The word "dainos" may come from meaning "song" or or , meaning "folk song, often with sad music or contents."

Song festivals Lithuania is home to many folk music festivals. The "Dainų šventė" (literally Song Celebration) a state-supported festival, is perhaps the most famous. First held in 1924, it has taken place every five years since then, and helps to keep the folk and choral music tradition alive. Other major folk festivals include the Skamba skamba kankliai and the , both held annually. Of historical importance is the , which was held in the 1980s and was the first major festival of its kind. The Baltica International Folklore Festival is held in one of the Baltic states every year.

The tradition of mass Song Festivals was inscribed in the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003.

Folk song genres

Sutartinės

Sutartinės, singular , (), are multipart songs and unique examples of folk music. They are an ancient form of two and three voiced polyphony, based on the oldest principles of multi-voiced vocal music: heterophony, parallelism, canon and free imitation. Most were recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries, but sources from the 16th century onwards show that they were significant, along with monophonic songs. Recognizing their uniqueness and value, UNESCO inscribed into the representative list of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

The topics and functions of encompass almost all known Lithuanian folk song genres, including work, calendar cycle ritual, weddings, family, wartime, and history. The melodies of are not complex, containing two to five pitches and consisting of two equal-length parts. The rhythm of one of the two parts is typically syncopated, creating rhythmic counterpoint when sung as a round.

There are three main categories of : Dvejinės ("twosomes") are sung by two singers or two groups of singers. Trejinės ("threesomes") are performed by three singers in strict canon. Keturinės ("foursomes") are sung by two pairs of singers.

Sutartinės are a localized phenomenon, found in the northeastern and eastern parts of Lithuania. They were sung by women, but men performed instrumental versions on the kanklės (Baltic psaltery), horns, and the , a form of panpipes usually played by a group, as well as wooden trumpets (like and ). The rich and thematically varied poetry of the attests to their importance in the social fabric. Sutartinės were sung at festivals, gatherings, weddings, and while performing various chores. The poetic language is not complex, but it is very visual, expressive, and sonorous. The rhythms are clear and accented. Dance are humorous and spirited, despite the fact that the movements of the dance are quite reserved and slow. One of the most important characteristics of the is the wide variety of lexical vocables used in the refrains (like "sodauto", "lylio", "ratilio", "tonarilio", "dauno", "kadujo" and "čiūto").

Sutartinės have almost become extinct as a genre among the general population, but the tradition is fostered by many Lithuanian folklore ensembles, who take great pleasure in keeping them alive.

Lithuanian laments

Lithuanian laments (; singular: rauda) are one of the oldest forms of musical poetry related to funeral customs. The first written sources about Lithuanian funeral customs date to the 9th century. Johan Maletius is purported to have written down the first lament in 1551, in a combination of the Belarusian and Lithuanian languages. The first known example of a lament solely in the Lithuanian language can be found in a travel diary by J. A. Brand. The development of laments is no different from that of other genres: emerging as part the phenomena of everyday life, they evolved and endured until they vanished when circumstances changed. In the 19th and 20th centuries, laments grew to resemble songs.

Two types of laments can be found throughout most of Lithuania. (funeral laments) are musical forms sung at funerals. (wedding laments) are sung by the bride at her wedding.

Many laments reflect the ancient Lithuanian world outlook, and a unique perspective on the afterlife. Laments often depict the world of the souls, where loved ones abide. The anthropomorphizing of trees is another ancient belief found in the texts of laments.

Laments are highly improvisatory, yet the improvisations remain within the bounds of established tradition and poetics. "Professional" lamenters, hired to sing at funerals, displayed great skill in impelling their listeners to tears. Their lamentations were performed for pay: cloth, gloves, bacon, a meal or the like. Young women preparing for marriage would go to them for tutelage.

Lamenting at funerals can still be heard in eastern and southern Lithuania, where this tradition has been particularly strong.

Wedding songs

There is considerable material available about Lithuanian wedding customs. The first written sources are from the 16th and 17th centuries. The greatest amount of material can be found in 19th century academic periodicals and other publications on ethnography and folklore. A classic tome on the subject is Antanas Juška's comprehensive description of wedding rites, Svodbinė rėda. Weddings were major celebrations, lasting a week or longer, attended by the relatives and friends of both families, and including the entire village. The great variety of wedding customs gave rise to a wide array of folk poetry and musical forms. Different vocal and instrumental forms developed, such as lyrical, satirical, drinking and banqueting songs, musical dialogues, wedding laments, games, dances and marches.

From an artistic standpoint, the lyric songs are the most interesting. They reflect the entirety of the bride's life: her touching farewells to loved ones as she departs for the wedding ceremony or her husband's home, premonitions about the future, age-old questions about relationships between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the innermost thoughts and emotions of the would-be bride. The rich repertoire of prenuptial lyric love songs is also often ascribed to the category of wedding songs, since the lyrics often have to do with upcoming weddings. During the actual wedding, the lyric songs were sung by the women and girls in chorus, often in the name of the bride. The bride herself usually did not sing.

Humorous-satirical wedding songs often poke fun at "the foreign party"—the groom and his groomsmen, brothers, friends and relatives. The wittiest and most biting humor is reserved for the and , who are invited by the bride and groom to be the hosts or masters of ceremony at the wedding. These are usually sung by girls and women who don't play any other role in the wedding. The melodic style varies from region to region, depending on the area's traditions. In Dzūkija, for example, the songs mocking the groom and his party take on the tonal characteristics of laments and lullabies, which augment the intended effect.

Traditional drinking and banqueting songs often sing of the hops, which cause trouble by making the barrels burst at the seams. These songs are also related to various wedding rituals. Melodically, they are similar to other songs in the wedding repertoire, and they are often lyrical in nature.

The bride's verkavimai () were an important part of the wedding ritual. They could be heard throughout the wedding celebration up until the bride's departure for the husband's home. Once she arrived there, her weeping was to cease. Verkavimai were free improvisations, although the imagery was quite standardized and did not vary. As young girls prepared for marriage, they tried to commit the texts of these laments to memory by learning them from their mothers or "professional" village lamenters.

War-historical time songs Chronicles and historical documents of the 13th through 16th centuries contain the first sources about songs relating the heroics of those fallen in battle against the Teutonic Knights. Beginning in the 16th century, historical documents also provide fragments of historical songs and more detailed accounts of their origins. Later, during the 17th and 18th centuries, attention to historical songs was quite scant. Interest was rekindled during the 19th century when historians resumed their interest in the Lithuanian history. Wartime historical songs were once again written down and discussed. The most valuable sources of wartime historical songs are the folk song collections of 19th-century ethnographers, such as Antanas Juška, Simonas Daukantas, Jonas Basanavičius, Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann, Chr. Bartsch and others.

Numerous song variant texts found in publications and archives reference events of the early 17th century. Many mention the Swedes, and there are frequent references to Riga and the Battle of Kircholm (Salaspils in Latvia). Songs collected in the first half of the 19th century mention battles with the Tatars.

There are numerous wartime historical songs in the song collections of Lithuania Minor, although these are of relatively late origin. Earlier songs from this region sing of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), such as seeing off a soldier to battle (in Austria, Bohemia or Silesia), farewells to loved ones, and gruesome battle scenes, all in traditional poetic imagery. Historical events from the Napoleonic Wars are depicted quite accurately.

The early-20th-century war between Russia and Japan did not inspire a large repertoire of wartime historical songs. However, the events of World War I, especially the four-year occupation by the German Empire, were much more widely remembered in song. Songs from uprisings and revolutions, as well as partisan and banishment songs are also classified as wartime historical songs.

Many wartime historical songs were written down without their melodies, and the melodies that are known do not have stylistic characteristics singular to the genre. In general, the character of these songs is not march-like, but more lyric or epic. In time, many wartime historical songs became war ballads, a unique genre which is alive and well to this day.

Calendar cycle and ritual songs