Ensemble "Nalšia". "Do you remember that melody...?" |" Anykščiai 5 April 2025, 18:00 | Anykščių Culture Centre As in all the concert programmes of the folklore ensemble "Nalšia", this one - "Do you remember this melody...?" - will feature folk songs sung in the past century, but still not forgotten today, nostalgic romances, and the ensemble will intrigue with more modern, sometimes even fanciful interpretations of time-tested popular tunes. What are the people coming to the Nalša concert hoping to experience, probably longing for and longing for? We guess that the fullness of feelings - one in youth, another in old age. And a non-verbal musical expression of these feelings, an opportunity not only to listen, but also to recognise, to sing together again, a melody once heard, sung for some time, and now already forgotten. We are sure that such songs never grow old and remain relevant for centuries. Together we will sing about the bliss of first love, there will be the grief of unhappy love, the blossoms of roses that won't bloom, and the breaking of hearts, men will lie down in unhappy unrequited love and girls will always want to believe in the love of the one... Even love letters will be questioned: maybe it is better to have "read it - torn it up - and be at peace" - neither the grief, nor that pain. And where there are romances, there are also tangos, waltzes and foxtrots - the couples will be spinning on stage and, perhaps, even in the audience...? Nalšia tries to sing the popular romances as they were traditionally sung by people in Lithuania. However, sometimes the exquisite, enchanting lyricism and poetic depth of the most beautiful romances beg for a special musical expression. Thus, daring to deviate from the authentic traditions of music-making and singing, the ensemble twists the melodies and rhythms of the romances in newer, nowadays more usual ways, and seeks to bring them to life, to elevate them to the level of experimentation, unconventional interpretation, and works worthy of a high culture of music-making. Here Nalšiai is beautifully assisted by its long-time friend, the professional and creative performer Rytas Lingė (forepiano). His music-making together enriches the arrangements of songs and romances with new and unexpected colours. The concert programme - "Do you remember this melody...?" - as if crowning the renaissance of romances that has begun in recent years, and giving space for their original, creative development. But even now, when sung in a more contemporary way, romances remain what they have always been - the song of our hearts.