This project investigates the role of collective singing during times of social crisis in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions, from ca. 1800 to the present. Singing together appears to be a universal human response to crisis—a notion recently reinforced by viral videos of collective singing in Ukrainian bomb shelters. Scandinavian and Baltic countries, known for their rich traditions of collective singing, have historically used song to foster cultural resilience, resolve conflicts, and promote inclusivity. Examples range from Denmark’s singing resistance after the Second Schleswig War and WWII to Norway’s response to the 2011 Utøya attack, and from Lithuanian deportees singing in Siberian labor camps to Baltic citizens singing for independence from the Soviet Union.
Singing traditions in these regions play a key role in shaping social cohesion, cultural identity, and heritage. Yet, despite these apparent similarities, no studies have directly compared singing practices across Scandinavia and the Baltics. The CRIES project addresses this gap, investigating the diverse social impacts of collective singing during crises. It clarifies how singing fosters communal bonds but may also create exclusion or discord. Given Europe’s current challenges—warfare, lingering impacts of COVID-19, and rising digital isolation—studying practices that enhance social trust and cohesion is more urgent than ever.
Spanning from 1800 to the present, CRIES combines historical analysis, computational humanities, musicology, and ethnography. The project examines both historical and contemporary cases, including Ukrainian refugees in Scandinavia and the Baltics, to explore how collective singing supports cultural identity in displacement.
Led by K. Baunvig Aarhus University, Denmark, CRIES counts as part of the team: K.Kuutma Tartu University, Estonia; R. Muktupāvela, the Latvian Academy of Culture, Latvia; and Austé Nakiené, the Lithuanian Literature and Folklore Institute, Lithuania. Working with prominent partners such as national libraries and Europe’s largest choral festival, CRIES provides an interdisciplinary perspective on singing traditions in various crisis contexts. This research offers insights for policymakers on the unifying and potentially divisive effects of collective singing. Finally, by developing a digital archive, CRIES will make its findings accessible to researchers and the public.
KEYWORDS:
collective singing, cultural resilience, communal singing, scandinavia, baltic countries, social inclusion and exclusion.
CONSORTIUM
- Project Leader: Katrine Baunvig, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, University of Tartu, Estonia
Kristin Kuutma, University of Tartu, Estonia (in the role of Principal Investigator from January 2025-June 2025)
- Rūta Muktupāvela, Latvian Academy of Culture, Latvia
- Austė Nakienė, The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, Lithuania
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS
- Aidas Sinkevicius, Deputy Director General for Infrastructure, Martynas Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania, Lithuania
- Alevtina Drexel, Administrator, Goldschmidts Musikakademi, Denmark
- Cecile Anne Christensen, Assistant director, Digital Transformation, Royal Danish Library, Denmark
- Christopher Natzén, Research Strategist, National Library of Sweden, Sweden
- Dzintra Mukāne, Executive Director, National Library of Latvia, Latvia
- Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, Stategy Director, Sangens Hus, Denmark
- Jarle Flemvåg, General Manager, Krafttak for Sang, Norway
- Kåre Vedding Poulsen, Editor, Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Denmark
- Lene Juul Langballe, Director, European Choir Games Aarhus 2025, Denmark
- Martin Öövel, Director General, National Library of Estonia, Estonia
- Signe Pujate, Director, Latvian National Centre for Culture, Latvia
- Vaiva Aglinskas, director, Namysto, Lithuania
- Yngvild Beyer, Head of Section, Language Bank & DH Lab, National Library of Norway, Norway
COOPERATION PARTNERS
- Guntis Šmidchens, Professor, University of Washington, United States
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Project website
- Achievements:
Since January 2025, CRIES has established a functioning Nordic–Baltic comparative research platform combining historical analysis, survey data, ethnographic fieldwork, and public engagement.
1) Historical cultural heritage data (1800–2025) have been extracted and are being processed for semantic analysis across six countries.
2) A cross-national survey has been designed and launched in Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia (target: 1,000 respondents per country; 4,000 total).
3) Fieldwork has been conducted at the European Choir Games (Aarhus 2025), Festival Baltica (Latvia 2025), and the Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Celebration, resulting in 30 in-depth interviews and audiovisual documentation.
4) In parallel, a canon song corpus has been collected for each of the four survey countries (Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), and an online platform for sharing and exploring this material is currently under construction.
5) Ethnographic research among Ukrainian refugee singing communities in Lithuania and Denmark has been conducted, including field recordings and a submitted peer-reviewed article, and an ethnographic film has been produced for public dissemination.
- News to be highlighted:
CRIES has gained notable international and public visibility during its first year. The project was presented at the Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe (University of Cambridge, April 2025), where CRIES researchers chaired and led sessions on collective singing and resilience, and at the Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting (Atlanta, October 2025), strengthening the project’s international academic profile. CRIES also participated in the HERA/CHANSE Knowledge Exchange Kick-Off Conference (Nottingham, November 2025), contributing to cross-project discussions on humanities approaches to crisis. The project was formally represented during the Danish Royal State Visit to Latvia (October 2025) and the Danish State Visits to Estonia and Lithuania (January 2026), where research findings were presented as part of official cultural programming. In addi-tion, an ethnographic film documenting Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania and their use of singing as a coping strategy has been produced and released for public dissemination (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGMvSIhy8E). Photographic documentation from state visits, festival fieldwork, and initial data digestion is available to support communication and outreach efforts.
Start date
1 January 2025
Project duration
36 months
Project budget
€ 957 797
Funding organisations
