Ululations

Zibuoklė Martinaitytė's Ululation (2023) for mixed choir developes entirely from the "ululating" gesture. The composer tells: "The idea of ululations as an audible, ritualistic expression of mourning became essential to the piece and seemed to be quite relevant to the historical times we live in. I imagined that the same way owls are awake at night ululating in the forest, the mourning women whose men of the family are at war fighting and dying or who have lost their loved ones, are wailing their sorrows out loud."

Premiered by the Latvian Radio Choir on September 15th, 2023 at the International IAMIC (International Association of Music Centers) conference in Riga, Latvia

Duration: c. 12'
16 voices (SSSSAAAATTTTBBBB) minimum, having more voices per part would be preferable.

The works of New York -based Lithuanian composer Zibuoklė Martinaitytė (b. 1973) have been lauded as breathtaking and profoundly moving. Her stimulating music bristles with energy and tension and revolves often around the subject of beauty, which she calls both a guiding principle and an aesthetic measure for sonic quality.