Birds of Eden

LP Mel C10-27239-007, 1988
CD Lithuanian Music in Context II. Landscapes of Minimalism. - Vilnius: Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Centre, LMIPCCD067-068, 2011
CD The Book of Living Nature. - Vilnius: Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Centre, LMIPCCD080, 2014

In strictly technical terms, Algirdas Martinaitis would refute a minimalist title. However, some of his early compositions, comprising ‘The Cycle of Living Nature,’ are quite repetitive in character besides neo-romantic sensitivities – such as this one, Birds of Eden. Amplified and processed sound of the cello was quite ‘exotic’ for that time and suited well the programmatic idea of the composer (“Once upon a time the Europeans were sailing along the shores of India. Upon seeing exotic birds, they decided that these are “Manug Devata” – the divine birds...).”

Rūta Gaidamavičiūtė