Broniaus Budriūno „Mišios švento Kazimiero garbei“ (1966): sakralumo problema
The B. Budriūnas’s mass in honour of St. Casmir (1966): a sacral problem

Summary/Abstract: The musical culture of Lithuanian emigrants, which has been known to us by episodic events, unfolds itself more and more. In a various musical fields of Lithuanians in the USA, the choir music tended to be more popular. Many of prominent Lithuanian composers and musicians had taken part in it. About 130 of St. Casimir’s Lithuanian parishes and 23 of the same name churches had acted in the USA for many decades. Nevertheless, it has never been properly analyses and discussed. The main reviews of the B. Budriūnas’s musical activity have been taken in this article. The style of Composer’s music, as well as the chorus leader’s is examined in this paper. The first analysis of the Mass in honor of St. Casimir has been taken. B. Budriūnas (b. 1909, d. 1994) is the Lithuanian Composer, chorus leader, the organist and pedagogue. After graduating from the Kaunas’s Conservatory he had won an authority as chorus leader, organist and as pedagogue in Lithuania. After his Motherland had been occupied by the Soviet Union, he left to the West. 1944–1948 the Composer lived in Germany and acted as chorus director, as an organist and pedagogue. He initiated a Lithuanian Songs festival in Wuerzburg. In 1948, B. Budriūnas immigrated to Detroit, and he directed a Radio choir and a favorite male quartet. In 1953, the Composer accepted the J. Kučingis’s invitation, the Priest of St. Casimir’s Lithuanian parish in Los Angeles, and started a work as organist and the mixed chorus leader. He initiated his own vocal and piano Music Study and had a many of students there. The best choir-directing experiences of Budriūnas turned out to be rich resource for the organizers of Lithuanian Song festivals in the USA, Canada and Australia, where he was invited to conduct the Mass choirs. As a choir leader, he won an outstanding authority of the Lithuanian community in USA. Some of His choral compositions was performed in abroad. B. Budriūnas had composed 370 pieces: the operetta “Sidabrinė diena“ (“The silver day”), 1970; seven secular cantatas, 19 choral pieces, 32 songs, 20 hymns, 5 masses, a piano sonata and some instrumental pieces too. The Composer had won many premiums and prizes with his music. The patriotic theme have got a pre170 Milda KAZAKEVIČIENĖ vailing role in his compositions. As Composer, he was adherent to the classical traditions in having outgrown a reliance on classical models and development a personal style. His melody, expressed with an individual melodic grace has the prevailing role in his vocal music. It is recognizably combined and unified with a poetic and musical form. In the Composer’s individual stylistic traits the most interesting is the classical harmony, compiled with a dissonance chords and non-harmonic notes. Most of his vocal and choral songs were popular throughout the Composer’s lifetime.

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