"We, Taiwanese, want to thank Lithuania for its support. Huge respect for your strength to be yourself. Freedom, democracy and human rights are the values that unite our countries," says the Lithuanian ir Taiwan alliance founder Kenjiro Tzeng.
Thanks to his efforts, the Kristupas Festival in Lithuania is organizing this week a free concert by Taiwanese baritone Haoming Chan, Lithuanian soprano Salomeja Petronytė and organist, artistic director of the "Sacred Hours" festival, prof. Renata Marcinkutė Lesieur concert.
Today, August 6, the performance of these musicians will take place at Vilnius St. Kazimierz Church, and on August 7, the concert "Musical Landscapes of Taiwan", in which the famous artist who sings on world stages will perform the works of Antonín Dvořák, Tyzen Hsiao, Rentar Taki, as well as a Japanese art song, is being held in Merkina St. In the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin.
"Although our countries are far away, the feelings and themes are the same. This is proof that music has no borders, unites different countries, brings people together," says soloist H. Chanas.
"It seems to us that the audience of the Kristupas Festival, which presents long-standing traditions and a wide range of music genres, is open to innovation. So, this time we will share the music of East Asia with the Lithuanian audience", says K. Tzengas and says that organ music in Taiwan is quite popular, after all, there is a strong Christian community here. Although Taiwanese have other traditional forms of religious music performance, organ music is important in the country's artistic and religious landscape.
Before coming to Lithuania, baritone H. Chan expressed to the organizers of the concert that he wanted the concert to take place not only in Vilnius, but also in some small Lithuanian town. "We chose Merkina, seeing how the cultural event reveals new angles of this historically extremely rich town. A concert the culture, leisure and gastronomy center "Merkinės Fabrikas" helped us to organize it, says organist R. Marcinkutė Lesieur.
"Nomads who reached Europe from the Baltic Sea are mentioned in the history of Lithuania. Taiwan is at the crossroads of the Oceanic Nomadic or Austronesian languages, between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean. In the history of Lithuania - the influence of Poland and the memory of the Soviets. Taiwan, due to its geographical location, has experienced the influence of Mongolia, Holland and Spain (some place names are still related to these two), Portugal (hence the island is also called Formosa, and where else Portuguese cuisine), Great Britain, France, Japan and JAV influence. Lithuania has independence, is officially recognized by the international community; Taiwan is not yet", K. Tzengas, the initiator of the concert, is looking for historical connections between the two countries.
He has no doubt that the Taiwanese have a lot to learn from the Lithuanians. Especially as a small nation endures bullying from the big ones. "Merkinė Mound is a symbol of Lithuanian resilience, it undoubtedly constantly reminds you of the importance of self-awareness. I know that the history of the Jews in Merkinė is also important for the memory of the town. Taiwanese, as orphans of international politics, can certainly look for inspiration here. Merkinė is famous for its cuisine and ceramics. In Taiwan, we are also proud of our cuisine and pottery. It would be great to look for common points of contact and start exchanging our knowledge,” he says.
Kristupas Festival and Lithuanian-Taiwan Alliance is organized by baritone H. Chan concert in Vilnius, St. Kazimierz Church, on August 6. On August 7, the concert in Merkina St. In the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin.
The anniversary Kristupas summer festival takes place from July 1st to September 18th in Vilnius Bernardinų Park, in the yard of A. Mickevičius Library, St. Kazimierz, St. Catherine and St. Joseph's churches.
