Onutė Narbutaitė’s (b. 1956) Oratorio Centones Meae Urbi (1997) is a key work in Lithunian contemporay music and a work that also earned the composer the Lithuanian National Laureate. This new 2024 recording of the work – which potrays the rich history of Lithuanian’s capital city Vilnius – with Robertas Šervenikas conducting the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Kaunas State Choir and with Lithuanian vocal soloists, Gunta Gelgotė and Nerijus Macevičius, is a major addition to Lithuanian recorded music.

The history of Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius, also known as the ‘Jerusalem of the North’, is a patchwork of cultures, music, and languages. This interwoven history is, in part, a result of its tumultuous history with centuries of changing hands and control from larger powers; but also, from the varieties of peoples who have come to call Vilnius home. This cultural melting pot was home to many prominent cultural figures including Adam Mickiewicz, Czesław Miłosz, and Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (Elijah of Vilna), to give a few notable examples. This rich tapestry receives a musical representation in the 70-minute multi-language oratorio Centones Maea Urbi, a work that can also be considered as the composer’s final breakthrough work.