World premiere of the 21st International Folklore Festival "POKROVO VARPAI": Leon SOMOV "ECHO OF THE PAST"

The International Folklore Festival "Pokrovo varpai" is one of the oldest cultural events of ethnic communities in Lithuania, running since 2006. Its name is associated with the Orthodox feast of Pokrov, symbolizing spiritual protection, continuity of traditions, and fellowship. Over two decades, the festival has become a significant cultural platform, presenting not only the folklore of Lithuania's ethnic communities but also guests from more than 30 countries around the world – from Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine to India, Mexico, or Japan.

The festival combines concerts, conferences, traditional singing workshops, educational events, and World Music projects.

Part I Leon SOMOV "ECHO OF THE PAST" (world premiere)

This year's festival is ceremoniously opened by a concert presenting the ambitious in every sense project ECHO OF THE PAST, dedicated to ethnic vocal and instrumental music performers, percussion, and electronics. The author of the work, Leon Somov, is one of the most prominent creators of innovative experimental electronic music in Lithuania. In the concert, he will present a live electronic program where the voices of ethnic minority traditions become sonic hypotheses about identity, memory, and being here and now. Using modern sound synthesis, live voice recordings, field sounds, and modular synthesizer signal processing, old melodies will take on a new sound. This is not a reconstruction, but a rebirth – listening without time limits. What remains of a song when you erase time?

Part II LIVING TRADITION

In the second part of the concert, listeners will be invited on an inspiring journey through living traditions – the best folklore groups from Armenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Spain, Norway, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine will perform. They will present unique, authentic examples of their regions' traditional music preserved to this day, revealing the worldview, rhythms, and layers of melodic memory of different nations. It is like a living dialogue with the past, allowing one to feel how tradition breathes today and how the voices of different cultures merge into a common, inspiring musical whole.

The festival's opening concert is not only an exceptional musical event but also a meaningful cultural dialogue between nations, styles, and eras. It is intended for those who are looking for unusual sound, deep emotions, and cultural meaning.