The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

Lithuanian and Ainu Vocal Polyphony: Certain Parallels
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tradition and successive studies are still required.
Ainu vocal polyphony indicates astounding parallels with the sutartinės. Meanwhile we can only talk
about a typological relationship between these two traditions. <strong>The</strong>ir common characteristics are their forms of
linear polyphony, secondal dissonances, archaic lyrics (including an abundance of onomatopoeic interjections)
that include singing like birds piping, singing in the round, the song-dance-music syncretism, the ritual nature
of their songs and their traditions of mainly female singers.
Lithuanian sutartinės tradition
Sutartinės songs are generally subdivided into seve–
ral fundamental types based on voice interaction me–
thods – heterophony, canon (imitation) and coun–
terpoint.
Canon sutartinės are based on a strict imitation of
one, and only one, melody by the other voices. This
is canon by prime interval. Two derivatives comprise
the initial melody in which the second either: a)
supplements the first (then the voices, resounding
in parallel, come together in nearly pure unison or
heterophony) or b) one sings in contrast to the first.
In this case, parallel seconds or various intervals –
seconds, thirds or fourths – are generated between the
voices (Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė, 2002: 102).
<strong>The</strong> most popular singing style is the canon sutar–
tinės trejinės ‘threesomes’. Three singers (sometimes
groups) perform in strict canon. Each performer en–
ters the song in stages while another singer proceeds
with the second part of the melody. In other words,
the second singer enters while the first is still singing,
the third while the second one is singing and then
the first again while the third is singing (ex. 1). <strong>The</strong>
entire sutartinės song is sung around in a circle in
this manner. Only two voices (separate parts) sound
at any one time except for the first stanza when the
voice of the lead collector of the text starts the song
alone (Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė, 2002: 118).
<strong>The</strong> trejinės contain the widest range of differences
(nearly 20 types of trejinės (Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė,
2002: 118-166; 204-205) are known), both by the
1) Forms of linear polyphony:
a) canon
Ainu tradition
Traditional Ainu polyphony is the only other
polyphonic tradition that uses canonical singing to
such a wide extent.
<strong>The</strong> traditional polyphony of Ainu is based on
a canonical imitation of relatively short musical
phrases 1 . According to Kazuyuiki (1965, 1975), two
genres are the most important: upopo (a round sung
in a canon by elders sitting in a circle) and rimse (a
round dance which is very rarely sung in canon).
Imitation is a significant criterion for assessing rimse
and upopo (ex. 2). <strong>The</strong> latter is sung imitatively
by several people seated around the lid of a chest
tapping its rhythm on the lid (fig. 4). Usually the
oldest member of the group takes the lead. <strong>The</strong> leader
turn his face towards a man sitting at his right and, on
a cue, this man starts singing one beat behind. This
continues until the last man sings, while the rest go
on singing (Jordania, 2006: 155). Ainu canonical
singing can vary from two up to six parts (ex. 3, 4).
In upopo songs, “the second contrapuntal voice
has to imitate the musical formula of the first con–
trapuntal voice (not heard until the last moment) at
an interval much shorter than that in our western
canons, since the second voice “attacks” the pre–
ceding musical formula before the first voice has
finished it” (Nattiez, 1990: 71).
“Women tap the lid rhythmically with their hands
and sing a song in a circular canon. Some upopos
are sung accompanied only by the clapping of hands,
and others are sung in unison or in a two or three-