the opportunity to admire the panorama of the old town and hear a piece dedicated to Vilnius University

April 20 Vilnius University Museum opens St. John’s Church bell tower for the summer season. From now on, it will be possible to visit it every day from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until October 20 The belfry will feature a permanent sound installation, where you will hear the piece “Invisible Angels” by Toshi Hosokawa, one of the most prominent Japanese composers of today, created and dedicated specifically to Vilnius University.

Vilnius University St. The bell tower of St. John’s Church is the tallest building in the Old Town of Vilnius (68 m). You can go up to the belfry observation deck with 193 authentic wooden steps or a modern elevator and admire the impressive panorama of the old town. Baroque St. The bell tower of John’s Church has five floors. On the second floor, you can see the only functioning Foucault’s pendulum in the Baltic States, which captures the fact of the Earth’s rotation around its axis.

Toshio Hosokawa’s work for Vilnius University

On the second floor, there will also be an opportunity to hear the piece “Invisible Angels”. It is a work for violin and accordion (performed by Ieva Sipaitytė and Raimondas Sviackevičius), which had its world premiere in 2023. May 6 St. St. John’s Church during the “Music for Vilnius” music festival dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius. It was organized by cultural innovation agency Meno genas and LENsemble Vilnius. From 2023 the September piece also sounded in the belfry.

One of the important parts of the “Muzikas Vilniui” event cycle is to leave an imprint on the city’s history: not to forget the works of composers that have been performed, by setting up permanent installations. Therefore, currently, in cooperation with the Vilnius University Museum, “Invisible Angels” landed in St. In the belfry of St. John’s Church, where it vibrates the brick walls and fills the space with the sound and silence of invisible angels. The work, pulsating with its own life, envelops the belfry stretching upwards, twisting around the 18th century. wooden stairs. The sound installation and the space chosen for it provide an opportunity to feel the power of the invisible pure soul mentioned by T. Hosokawa: the feeling of power has been enhanced since the 17th century. the surviving belfry of the beginning, and the pure soul – the vibrations of the violin and accordion.

Visit Vilnius University Museum St. John’s Church bell tower is available both individually and in groups. Groups of visitors require advance registration. The ticket price for students, schoolchildren, seniors and persons with a POLA card is 3 euros, for adults – 5 euros. Entrance is free for Vilnius University employees.

You can hear the permanent sound installation at Vilnius University’s St. On the second floor of the bell tower of St. John’s Church (12 St. John Street), after purchasing a visitor’s ticket, from Monday to Sunday, 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m.

During the opening of the bell tower, visitors are also invited to get to know T. Hosokawa’s work more closely, to learn how Vilnius University is connected with music from the time the Jesuit Academy was established to the present day during the “Music at Vilnius University” tours (1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.). Exclusively on April 20. Composer, head of “Meno geno” and organizer of the series of events “Music for Vilnius” Matas Drukteinis will take part in the excursions. Introducing the cycle of events, the composer T. Hosokawa and the work he donated to Vilnius University. You can register here.

You can find more information on the Vilnius University Museum website and Facebook account.

—

You can find out more about the cycle “Muzika Vilniuii”. here. The project is part of the Vilnius 700th anniversary program. The initiator of the celebration is the Vilnius City Municipality, the curator of the program is the Vilnius Tourism and Business Development Agency “Go Vilnius”. The implementation of the program is financed by the Vilnius City Municipality and the Chancellery of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Read more about the anniversary program here.