Onutė Narbutaitė - Centones Meae Urbi (Robertas Šervenikas)

Information

Composer: Onutė Narbutaitė

1. Centones Meae Urbi: Opening. The Poet's Return
2. Centones Meae Urbi: I. Autumn
3. Centones Meae Urbi: II. Winter
4. Centones Meae Urbi: III. Spring
5. Centones Meae Urbi: IV. Summer
6. Centones Meae Urbi: The Poet's Farewell. Closing

Gunta Gelgotė, soprano

Nerijus Masevičius, bass-baritone

Kaunas State Choir

Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra

Robertas Šervenikas, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Ondine

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Onutė Narbutaitė’s Centones Meae Urbi (1997) is a landmark oratorio in Lithuanian contemporary music and earned the composer the Lithuanian National Prize. The work reflects the rich historical and cultural heritage of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, weaving musical and textual elements into a powerful tribute to the city. This 2024 recording presents the oratorio with conductor Robertas Šervenikas leading the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas State Choir, alongside soloists Gunta Gelgotė and Nerijus Macevičius. Their performance brings renewed attention to Narbutaitė’s significant composition and represents an important contribution to the recorded legacy of Lithuanian music.

Onutė Narbutaitė (b. 1956) is a prominent Lithuanian composer who graduated from the Lithuanian State Conservatory (now the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) in 1979, where she studied composition under Julius Juzeliūnas. From 1979 to 1982 she taught music theory and history at the Klaipėda Faculties of the Conservatory before settling in Vilnius as a freelance composer. Narbutaitė received Lithuania’s highest artistic honor, the National Arts and Culture Prize, in 1997 for her oratorio Centones meae urbi. She has earned numerous additional awards, and her music is regularly performed at festivals and concerts across Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, and South Korea.

Robertas Šervenikas is a distinguished Lithuanian conductor, Professor, and laureate of the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize, serving as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Kaunas State Choir. Renowned for his dynamic and versatile career, he is celebrated for premiering large-scale works by Lithuanian composers and for his mature interpretations of both contemporary and classical repertoire. His work spans opera, ballet, and symphonic music, with particular emphasis on modern compositions, including notable productions of works by Onutė Narbutaitė. Šervenikas has recorded numerous albums of contemporary music and conducts internationally, appearing with major orchestras and performing in prominent concert halls across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East.