Recently released CD features new sacred and spiritual works performed by Latvian Radio Choir

Egils Kaljo | 

The internationally renowned Latvian Radio Choir has long been an advocate of new music by Latvian composers. Throughout many decades of performances, the Choir has premiered many new works, and not just Latvian composers, but also many internationally known composers, seek out the Latvian Radio Choir, due to their performance and interpretative skills.

In collaboration with the Latvian record label Skani, the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by  Kaspars Putniņš and Sigvards Kļava, released its latest collection of new choir music by Latvian composers in 2024. Entitled Angele Dei, the album features choir works of a sacred and spiritual nature.

Composer Pēteris Vasks has often included spiritual themes in both his choir and instrumental works, and this collection includes two of his choir songs – “Angele Dei” and “Actus Caritatis”, both based on Catholic prayers. The quietly meditative “Angele Dei” gradually builds to an emotional crescendo, and the Latvian Radio choir skillfully presents this work, with its long phrases, with an expressive, emotional depth. Similarly, “Actus Caritatis”, a slow and deliberate work, with its soaring melody, displays Vasks’ innate ability to generate moving and spiritually uplifting music.

“Sensus”, with music by Krists Auzinieks, is a highly complex work for 24 voices, is full of sonic textures and vocal effects. Based upon a fragment from Paul the Apostle’s Letter to the Romans, Auzinieks weaves together the various voices into a dynamic and robust composition. The choir deftly brings together the many disparate voices into an expansive, layered performance, creating an enveloping musical experience.

Ruta Paidere’s “Magnificat” is, as the composer herself states, an attempt to develop “a sound that was archaic but at the same time also contemporary”. Blending elements from various sources, including Jewish and Buddhist chants, as well as from Palestrina’s “Magnificat”, Paidere’s work, at times has the choir whispering, then later builds to a revelatory enlightenment at the conclusion, and the choir provides for a compelling performance of this multi-faceted work.

Andris Dzenītis is a composer who is also known for his melding of multiple styles and elements, modern sounds and traditional elements, and the two compositions on this collection – “Om, Lux Aeterna” and “Lūgšana” (Prayer) are vivid examples of his compositional style. “Om, Lux Aeterna” contains elements from Christian, Buddhist and Vedic beliefs, and, with the choir’s artistic mastery, creates a revealing journey through the world’s religions. On the other hand, “Lūgšana” (the Lord’s Prayer in Latvian) is a calmer, more reflective work, and perhaps less complex than Dzenītis’ works usually are, but still provides an emotional weight with its radiant harmonies.

Santa Ratniece’s “Nighttime Light” is a striking example of Ratniece’s distinctive style, with perhaps less focus on musical harmonies, but with more on sound textures, exploring the boundaries of what a human voice is capable of. The resulting work, at times mysterious, even slightly ominous, is still richly spiritual, and the shimmering vocals gradually dissipate at the work’s ethereal conclusion.

Perhaps the most demanding and challenging work (for both the choir and listeners) on the album is Mārtiņš Viļums’ “The Fate of King Lear’s Children”, inspired by the Irish legend ‘The Children of Lir’. The work is often harsh, with discordant harmonies, and this performance displays the skill and talents of the choir, and particularly conductor Kaspars Putniņš, who deftly weaves together all the many disparate and intricate vocal lines into a cohesive and engaging whole.

Angele Dei, beyond being another testament to the abilities of the Latvian Radio Choir and conductors Kaspars Putniņš and Sigvards Kļava, is also a compelling document of modern Latvian choir music, displaying the great range of abilities and styles currently being implemented by Latvian composers.

For further information, please visit the Latvian Radio Choir website.

Angele Dei

Latvian Radio Choir, conductors Kaspars Putniņš, Sigvards Kļava

LMIC/SKANi 163, 2024

Track listing:

1. Pēteris Vasks – Angele Dei

2. Krists Auznieks – Sensus

3. Ruta Paidere  – Magnificat

4. Andris Dzenītis – Om, Lux Aeterna

5. Andris Dzenītis – Lūgšana

6. Santa Ratniece – Nighttime Light

7. Pēteris Vasks – Actus Caritatis

8. Mārtiņš Viļums – The Fate of King Lear’s Children

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area . Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.

University of Latvia launches new research project titled “Navigating Post-Exile: Transformations and Transitions in the Latvian Exile Community after 1991”

Maija Krūmiņa | 

The concept of post-exile embodies a dual meaning: it signifies both the conclusion of the exile experience and the potential for return to one’s homeland. However, it also reflects the persistence of the exile experience, indicating that exile does not have a clearly definable end point. In Latvia, part of whose population (approximately 200 000 people) lived in exile for more than 50 years after the Second World War and the consequent Soviet occupation of Latvia, the term “post-exile” has never been widely used. Instead, after regaining independence in 1991, while a small proportion of Latvians from the “old exile” and their descendants returned to Latvia, those who remained came to be classified as part of the diaspora, and the “new emigration” wave that left Latvia in the past few decades gradually merged into this community. Despite the striking differences between the two cohorts, Latvian policymakers and researchers have adopted the term “diaspora” to refer to all Latvians abroad, with studies predominantly focusing on the experiences of the new emigration.

Building upon these considerations, and also recognising that even now, more than three decades after Latvia regained its independence, distinct Latvian communities in the West are discernible based on their time of arrival, this project aims to explore the “post-exilic” period of the Latvian exile community from a historical viewpoint. As such, the main goal of the study is to examine the evolution of the Latvian exile community, which maintained a robust identity throughout the long years of Soviet occupation, and how it adapted to the rapidly changing landscape of their homeland. Moreover, the study endeavours to understand the processes of integration or, conversely, non-integration of members of the exile community into the regained homeland and of the new diaspora with representatives of the “old exile”.

In addition to traditional historical research methods, the project will leverage the scientific team’s extensive expertise in applying a biographical approach and oral history methodologies. This approach will provide insights into individuals’ sense of belonging and the evolution of identities during a period marked by significant population movements both in Latvia and globally. Moreover, by amplifying the voices of exiled Latvians and their descendants, the project can help alleviate potential tensions between exiles and local residents in Latvia, fostering empathy, understanding, and cohesion, while breaking stereotypes rooted in historical and experiential differences.

The core research team comprises: PhD Maija Krūmiņa (project leader, history), PhD Kristīne Beķere (history), PhD Maruta Pranka (sociology), PhD Daina Grosa (migration studies), Ginta Elksne (PhD candidate in sociology), and Elvis Friks (doctoral student in literary studies).

The project outputs will include scientific publications, the organising of an international conference, conference reports, and various public outreach activities. Updates on the project can be followed on the project’s website and Facebook page.

The project is funded by the Latvian Council of Science (No. LZP-2024/1-0114) and will be implemented over three years.

Information prepared by: Maija Krūmiņa maija.krumina@lu.lv

Maija Krūmiņa, PhD, is a leading researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Latvia. She specializes in oral history and biographical research, as reflected in her doctoral thesis on Latvian exiles' refugee journeys during World War II (2023) and in numerous national and international publications.

Uzsākta trešā apjomīgā Latvijas diasporas aptauja

Inta Mieriņa | 

Pēc piecu gadu pārtraukuma Latvijas universitātes migrācijas pētījumu grupa uzsāk nu jau trešo apjomīgo Latvijas diasporas aptauju.

Šogad tā pievēršas diasporas politiskajai iesaistei, sociālajām un ekonomiskajām saitēm ar Latviju. Aptaujā noskaidrosim, kādēļ ārvalstīs dzīvojošie latvieši balso vai nebalso vēlēšanās, kādās vēl aktivitātēs iesaistās, lai ietekmētu procesus Latvijā, un kādu vēlētos redzēt politisko partiju piedāvājumu.

Pētījums atklās arī, kādu iemeslu dēļ cilvēki šobrīd aizbrauc, kā tas laika gaitā ir mainījies, un kas attur no atgriešanās Latvijā. Pētījums pieskaras arī ekonomiskajām saitēm ar Latviju un diasporas gatavībai investēt Latvijas uzņēmumos.

Aptaujā aicināti piedalīties Latvijas valstspiederīgie vai Latvijā dzimušie, kas šobrīd dzīvo ārpus Latvijas.

Pētījumā sniegtās atbildes ir pilnībā konfidenciālas un tiks izmantotas tikai apkopotā veidā.

Aptaujā iespējams piedalīties līdz 10.novembrim, izmantojot saiti uz pētījumu.

Dr. sc. soc. Inta Mieriņa ir LU tenūrprofesore , LU Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūta vadošā pētniece un Diasporas un migrācijas pētījumu centra direktore.