Kūlgrinda is a folk music group from Vilnius,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, established in 1989 by Inija and

Jonas Trinkūnas Jonas Trinkūnas (28 February 1939 – 20 January 2014) was the founder of Lithuania's pagan revival Romuva, as well as being an ethnologist and folklorist. In the Soviet Union Trinkūnas was born in 1939 in Klaipėda. He finished primary sc ...

. The group is connected to the Lithuanian neopagan movement Romuva and often performs as a part of the movement's ceremonies.

History

The band was founded in 1989 by

and his wife

Inija Trinkūnienė Inija Trinkūnienė (born October 25, 1951, in Kelmė) is a Lithuanian ethnologist, folklorist, sociologist, psychologist, head of folk music group Kūlgrinda and the high priestess (''krivė'') of the Romuva community of the old Lithuanian faith ...

who also were the leaders of the modern Pagan movement Romuva. The band has from the start functioned as the musical expression of this movement. Some of the recorded material has functioned as "musical scriptures" for the Romuva members and the band has regularly participated as an integral part of the movement's events.Michael F. Strmiska. 2012. "Paganism-Inspired Folk Music, Folk Music-Inspired Paganism and New Cultural Fusions in Lithuania and Latvia". Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production. . pp. 361-364 On the website of Romuva, Kūlgrinda is described as a "ritual folklore group".Apeigų folkloro grupė
Romuva. The band owes its name to '' kūlgrinda'' – a secret Samogitian underwater

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

. Kūlgrinda's music typically consists of straightforward folk music performances with little studio enhancement and a focus on the vocal performances. It has specialised on '' sutartinės'', a traditional form of polyphonic song-chant where several vocalists perform interlocking melodies that through rhythmic repetition create a pattern of musical expression. The musicologist Daiva Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė has compared this technique to the weaving of a multicoloured cloth. The band has collaborated with other artists such as the electronic musician

Donis Donis is a Lithuanian ambient music, ambient, neofolk and experimental music project created by the Klaipėda multi-instrumentalist Donatas Bielkauskas. He was also a member of electronic music projects ''Wejdas'', ''Notanga'', ''Ha Lela'', ''E ...

, the singer Rasa Serra and the heavy metal band Ugnėlakis. The latter collaboration resulted in the forming of the folk rock group

Žalvarinis is a folk rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania. They were formed in 2001 as a collaboration between the pagan metal group Ugnėlakis and the pagan folk group Kūlgrinda. This was reflected in the title of their debut album in 2002, ''Ugnėlakis ...

Discography

Kulgrinda albums were initially released by Dangus Records. Later the band signed with Aurea Studija. *1996: ''Kūlgrinda'' – cassette *2002: ''Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda'' – with Ugnėlakis *2002: ''Ugnies Apeigos'' ("Rite of Fire") *2003: ''Sotvaras'' – with

*2003: ''Perkūno Giesmės'' ("Hymns of Perkūnas") *2005: ''Prūsų Giesmės'' (" Prussian Hymns", sung in the extinct Old Prussian language) *2007: ''Giesmės Saulei'' ("Hymns of the Sun") *2009: ''Giesmės Valdovui Gediminui'' ("Hymns to King Gediminas") *2013: ''Giesmės Žemynai'' ("Hymns to Žemyna") – with

*2014: ''Laimos Giesmės'' ("The Hymns of Laima") *2018: ''Giesmės Austėjai'' ("Hymns to

Austėja The list of Lithuanian gods is reconstructed based on scarce written sources and late folklore. Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1387, but elements of Lithuanian mythology survived into the 19th century. The earliest written sources, author ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulgrinda Modern paganism in Lithuania Lithuanian folk music groups Modern pagan musical groups Baltic modern paganism Musical groups established in 1989

History

Discography

See also

References

External links