Onutė Narbutaitė is one of the rather few contemporary composers, whose music bears a mark of extraordinary individuality and remains recognisable from the very first bars of each composition. Like many compositions created by the generation of Lithuanian 'neo-romanticist' composers, the composer's early opuses abounded in images of 'night', 'silence', 'oblivion', unhurried flow, transparent textures and nostalgic moods. However, from the outset Narbutaitė's music was noted for certain features that distinguished her from contemporary fellow composers. Along with a wide range of various states, moods and emotions, Narbutaitė's entire work is noted for a sense of aristocratic measure and strong compositional discipline, which only enhances the emotional impact of her music. The rationality of composition here is expressed by meticulously detailed textures, exact proportions of smaller and larger sections and the overall form, and understated interplay of minute details. The abstract musical narrative is extremely expressive, prominent and often reminiscent of 'something familiar'.
