Following World War I, the reborn state relied to a great extent on the cultural traditions that had been preserved in the village areas. During the last years of Soviet occupation, the practice of folklore collection gained momentum, with the intelligentsia and university students saving still recorded songs, tales, names and household and folk-crafted articles from ruin. There are over a million samples of very varied genres, such as legends, proverbs, tales, stories and songs, housed at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Folklore. A major portion of the wealth of this collective creativity consists of songs, of which there are about 600,000. The unique method of Lithuanian singing, the sutartine, is known all over the world.
Choral singing is particularly popular in Lithuania.
There is a number of prominent choirs. The amateur men's choir Varpas, the women's choir Egle, the professional boys' choir Azuoliukas, and the girls' choir Liepaites have become famous. Various folklore ensembles are also popular. The unique tradition of a national song festival, which takes place every five years, is alive in Lithuania. The festival brings together hundreds of thousands of performers and listeners.