Muziko Jono Žemaičio gyvenimas ir veikla
LTStraipsnyje pirmą kartą nuodugniai rekonstruojamas ir pristatomas Jono Žemaičio (1867–1932) gyvenimas ir kūrybinė veikla. Vargonininkas, choro dirigentas, kompozitorius, leidėjas Žemaitis Lietuvos muzikinės kultūros istorijoje iki šiol yra netyrinėta ir neįvertinta asmenybė. Jo gyvenimas atspindi ir reprezentuoja tiek bendrą XIX–XX a. sandūros lietuvių tautos istoriją, tiek JAV susitelkusios pirmosios bangos gyvenimo ir veiklos ypatumus. Žemaičio muzikinė veikla vienoje seniausių lietuvių parapijų JAV – Šv. Jurgio parapija, Shenandoah, Pensilvanija – truko kelis dešimtmečius ir turėjo didelės reikšmės tiek išsaugant ir puoselėjant lietuvybę šioje valstijoje, tiek plėtojant lietuvių muzikinę veiklą visoje Amerikoje. Žemaičio kūryba buvo paklausi lietuvių tarpe, ją taip pat įrašais pianolai ir šelako plokštelėmis išleido ir platino pagrindinės JAV kompanijos – QRS, Victor, Connorized. Kurį laiką Žemaitis netgi buvo daugiausia savo muzikos JAV išleidęs lietuvis. Greta to, Žemaičio vedamas choras buvo laikomas pavyzdiniu ir plačiai žinomas visoje Pensilvanijoje. Jo organizuotos dainų šventės, inicijuota Šiaurės Amerikos lietuvių vargonininkų sąjunga (kartu su Antanu Pociumi ir Ksaveru Strumskiu) rodo jį buvus neeilinę asmenybę. Jo dainos, virtusios liaudies dainomis, taip pat rodo, kad Žemaičio kūryba turėjo žymiai didesnį poveikį Amerikos lietuviams, nei yra manoma iki šiol. [...] [p. 270].
ENThe life and creative activity of Jonas Žemaitis (1867–1932) are reconstructed and presented in detail for the first time. The church organist, choir conductor, composer, and publisher Žemaitis is a personality not yet researched and evaluated in the history of Lithuanian musical culture. His life reflects and represents the general history of the Lithuanians at the turn of the twentieth century as well as specific features in the life of the first-wave Lithuanian immigrants (before the First World War). Žemaitis’s musical activity in St George church in Shenandoah, PA, one of the oldest Lithuanian parishes in the USA, lasted several decades and had a visible impact on preserving Lithuanian-ness in Pennsylvania, upholding, and activating musical life of the Lithuanians in all the states. While in Shenandoah, Žemaitis stood out as a talented organiser and leader of the city’s cultural life. He formed a large church choir (60 singers) and participated not only in everyday church service but also held numerous public concerts in the city and the surrounding area. Žemaitis’s choir was recognised a leader and became the first prize winner in Lithuanian Days organised in 1926. In addition to choir conducting, Žemaitis was active in public life: for two years he was the only correspondent of the Lithuanian daily Draugas (established in 1909) in Shenandoah; in 1911, together with Xavier Stumskis and Antanas Pocius, he established the society of American-Lithuanian organists and for a short time chaired it. In parallel, Žemaitis taught new Lithuanian organists and became the first person who did it on a permanent basis. Žemaitis started to compose music when he realised that Lithuanian repertoire was insufficient. He composed about 70 songs (solo, for duets, and for a mixed choir). He printed his music at ‘Saulė’ (The Sun) printing house in Mahanoy City.A short catalogue of his music of 1926 has survived. Since Žemaitis wished to share his music wider, he started to collaborate with the most famous American companies (Connorized, Victor, QRS) to produce piano rolls and shellac discs with his music. This collaboration continued for about ten years, and for a short time Žemaitis even became the most famous Lithuanian composer in the USA. Some of his songs were published two and three times, and a total of 57 piano rolls with his music were produced (about 20% of all Lithuanian piano rolls). We can state that Lithuanian piano rolls were initiated by Žemaitis; their production stopped with his death in 1932, because no new rolls were produced after this year. Žemaitis’s songs were immensely popular. Some of them became almost like folk songs and were also sung in Lithuania (‘Vilniaus kalneliai’, ‘Gana, broliai, mums miegoti’, ‘Aš lietuvaitė’). It is known that Žemaitis composed a Mass (1921). His mass is one of the first composed by a Lithuanian composer in the USA (the first Mass was composed by Stasys Šimkus in 1917 and published in Boston in the same year). In conclusion, we can state that Žemaitis made a visible impact to the musical and cultural life of Lithuanians both in Pennsylvania across the USA.
