Jūrėse

With its New Agey, Celtic feel, at times Jūrėse (meaning ‘In the Lagoon’, referencing his home region) sounds almost like a Clannad album, though given the historical links between Lithuania and Celtic countries, perhaps this should not come as a surprise. And while Lithuanian folk music is clearly a forte, Saulius Petreikis' interest in the traditional music of other countries is also evident.

Indeed, Vilnius-based Petreikis was originally classically trained on trumpet and nowadays he plays more than 15 wind instruments from around the world. Many of these can be heard on this album; a bonus would have been to have had a listing of these sometimes unfamiliar instruments, track by track. With nine previous solo albums and numerous collaborations behind him, on Jūrėse, Petreikis is joined by a fine string sextet and also on guitar by his brother and co-composer Donatas Petreikis, and with co-arranger Jonas Jurkūnas.

At a slow to moderate tempo, the simple, hummable melodies soothe. The playing is impeccable and it comes as no surprise that Petreikis also composes for theatre and screen. The lovely ‘Mamai’ (For Mum) is especially dramatic. This is family-friendly, relaxing world music at its best. It grows on the listener with every hearing.