Dūšelės / Souls (2016)

Musical mythological drama

Dūšelės (Souls) is a musical work about the soul‘s journey between this and other worlds, inspired by ancient Lithuanian beliefs about life and the afterworld, and how such beliefs survive and resonate in folk songs, fairy tales and traditions. In particular, we will give a sense of, and to, some of the most mysterious places in Baltic heritage, which lie at the heart of such mythology: ancient Lithuanian burial mounds.

Plot Summary

A Brother enters a forbidden place and is bitten by a guardian Snake. The Brother dies. His Sister decides to go on a quest for her Brother who has descended to the Nether World. By performing ceremonial rites, such as swimming through rivers and passing through mountains, she crosses the threshold between life and death and finds her way to the Nether World. There she meets the famished Souls of long-dead ancestors. The Sister feeds them on milk and honey and in return, the grateful Souls teach her the ancient incantation against a snake’s bite. Her way towards the Brother’s abode is illuminated by candles burning on the backs of crayfish. The Sister embarks on a nine year long journey, full of insurmountable tasks. Finally the Sister finds her Brother, recites the incantation that she has learned and revives him. The wind begins to blow, so the Sister sends a plea to all birds and asks each that comes to bestow her a feather as a gift. The Brother and Sister make wings out of the feathers and fly home with the help of the wind.

This work was conceived and realized by Rokas Radzevičius

CD1 DŪŠELĖS / SOULS • Live at the Karmazinai mound site

1 • Gyvatės marškiniai / THE SNAKE’S SKIN	5:57
2 • Eit sesulė vandenėlio / THE SISTER AND THE RIVER	5:51
3 • Nėr kur dūšelei dėtis / NO PLACE FOR A SOUL	5:48
4 • Man toli iki tavęs / YOU ARE FAR AWAY	5:20
5 • Pilkapių sniegas / SNOW	5:54
6 • Vėlių daina / THE SONG OF SOULS	3:59
7 • Dūšios gyvačių akim / SNAKE-EYED SOULS	6:44
8 • Žvakės ant vėžių nugarų / CANDLES ON CRAYFISHES’ BACKS	5:37
9 • Devynerius metus / NINE YEARS	4:58
10 • Pūsk, vėjau / BLOW, O WIND	6:36

Total duration: 56:47

CD2 DŪŠELĖS / SOULS • Post scriptum

1 • Man toli iki tavęs / YOU ARE FAR AWAY	Donis remix	6:56
2 • Pilkapių sniegas / SNOW	Martas B remix	5:20
3 • Nėr kur dūšelei dėtis / NO PLACE FOR A SOUL	Skroblas paraphrasis	8:16
4 • Devynerius metus / NINE YEARS	Martas B remix	8:27
5 • Žvakės ant vėžių nugarų / CANDLES ON CRAYFISHES’ BACKS	Šarūnas Kvaraciejus remix	4:29
6 • Dūšelės 1 / SOULS 1	Jonas Jurkūnas paraphrasis	5:29
7 • Devynerius metus/ NINE YEARS	Donis remix	4:26
8 • Dūšelės 2 / SOULS 2	Jonas Jurkūnas paraphrasis	13:03
9 • Dūšelės 3 / SOULS 3	Jonas Jurkūnas paraphrasis	5:41
10 • Vėjo laiškas / WIND’S MESSAGE	Skroblas + Donis paraphrasis	6:37

	Total duration: 68:48

Recorded 10.10.2015 on „Dūšelės“ / SOULS unveiling at the Karmazinai mound.
Sound Director of live record Valdas Karpuška, assistant Tadas Karpuška.
Garso pataisymai ir papildomų instrumentų įrašai atlikti 2016 kovo mėnesį „Via artis“ studijoje.
Sound Director Rokas Radzevičius.
Garso suvedimo ir galutinių pataisymų garso režisierius Gints Lundbergs (Latvija).

Vocalists:
Sister– Aistė Smilgevičiūtė
Brother – Rokas Radzevičius
Souls – vokalinė grupė „Baltos sielos“ (Toma Grašytė, Aušrinė Vyšniūnaitė, Milda Laužikaitė, Viltautė Žvirzdinaitė, Arūnas Petronis, Vincas Kondratas, Kęstutis Drazdauskas, Aidis Jakimavičius)

Performers:
Rokas Radzevičius – acoustic guitar, keyboards, rattle, ritual drum
Mantvydas Kodis – accordion, keyboards
Enrikas Slavinskis – electric guitar
Gediminas Žilys – bass guitar
Salvijus Žeimys – drums & percussion
Kęstutis Drazdauskas – flute, whistle (10)

In 2016, an interactive online multimedia story about burial mounds in Lithuania was released.
It can be found at www.duseles.lt