Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, who celebrated his 80th birthday in 2026, has been collaborating with many Latvian ensembles and artists for decades, but perhaps the most fruitful collaboration has been with the Latvian Radio Choir. Vasks’ choir music has been captivating and moving listeners for many years now, and the Latvian Radio Choir has recorded many notable and exceptional albums of Vasks’ choir music – among them 2007’s Pater Noster and 2017’s Laudate Dominum (both with Sinfonietta Rīga), as well as 2012’s Plainscapes.

Continuing this rich collaboration, and to celebrate the composer’s 80th birthday in 2026, the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Sigvards Kļava, released Songs of My Heart on the Ondine record label. The album is a collection of a cappella choir works, both sacred and secular, that spans decades – from some of his earliest choir compositions to more recent works.

Vasks’ father Arvīds Vasks was a Baptist pastor in the town of Aizpute, and this was a major inspiration for Vasks to develop his sacred repertoire. “Lūgšana” (Prayer), the earliest work on this album was written in 1961 (when Vasks was fifteen), but already displays the budding composer’s skills with harmony and melody, as well as his affinity for sacred texts. There was a certain amount of risk of composing a sacred work at this time, considering the Soviet occupation of Latvia and the very real risk of sanction or censure if discovered, which would explain why this work had to be filed away for decades. Though a relatively simple work, the Latvian Radio Choir still present a luminous and resplendent performance of this early Vasks’ work.

The quiet, contemplative “Actus caritatis” is a more recent sacred composition’. The somber, yet earnest work, with a text taken from a New Testament verse from the Gospel of Matthew, is a deeply personal work for Vasks, and the Latvian Radio Choir’s subdued, reserved performance is both spiritually satisfying and personally affecting.

Many of Pēteris Vasks’ compositions are also patriotic and full of reverence and love for Latvia, for example in his music for “Savā tautā” (Within My Nation), from a poem by Andrejs Eglītis. Written in 1990, when it was clear the Soviet regime was beginning to collapse and restoration of Latvian independence was on the horizon, the work alternates between a tender, gentle melody and a harsh, defiant tone, and the Latvian Radio Choir captures the duality of this work and Eglītis’ at once pained and hopeful words, such as “Tik daudzreiz dziļi ievainots un saldi dziedēts” (So many times deeply wounded and kindly healed).

Vasks has also worked extensively with the poetry of the late Latvian poet Knuts Skujenieks, famed for his unbroken spirit and unfailing optimism even when suffering in a Soviet labor camp. This album contains many of Vasks’ songs with Skujenieks’ texts, including “Šesas dziesmas ar Kn. Skujenieka vārdiem” (Six Songs) as well as “Tēvu zeme” (Fatherland). Vasks imbues Skujenieks’ expressive poetry with music that is both emotionally and spiritually rich, full of hope even in the face of unimaginable adversity, and the Radio Choir provides a poignant and nuanced performance.

The Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava continue to display their exceptional skills in the interpretation and performance of the dynamic and multifaceted choir music of Pēteris Vasks. For decades now, the Choir and the composer have been complementing and enhancing each other, and Songs of My Heart is just the latest entry in this joint history, and is a fitting tribute to the composer on his 80th birthday.

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

Pēteris Vasks – Songs of My Heart

Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Kļava, conductor

Ondine, ODE1505-2, 2026

Track listing:

1. Actus caritatis
2. The Fruit of Silence
3. Pater noster
4. Angele Dei

Love Songs (Mīlas dziesmas)

• I. Such lightness (Tāds gaišums)
• II. And suddenly such silence (Un pēkšņi tāds klusums)
• III. Where was I? (Kur biju?)
• IV. Then time stopped (Tad apstājas laiks)
• V. Not a leaf is moving (Ne lapa nekustas)

1. Prayer (Lūgšana)
2. First Grass (Pirmā zāle)

Six Songs (Šesas dziesmas ar Kn. Skujenieka vārdiem)

1. I.
2. II.
3. III.
4. IV.
5. V.
6. VI. I Wish You (Novēlējums)

1. Our Mountains (Mūsu kalni)
2. Within My Nation (Savā tautā)
3. Fatherland (Tēvu zeme)

Mazputniņš, a monthly Latvian-language magazine for children and youth, was published in the United States and Canada from 1959 to 1994. The magazine was also distributed to Latvian families around the world on a subscription basis.

The magazine aimed to encourage children to read in Latvian by providing interesting and engaging content. It also gave young readers the opportunity to submit their own creative work and solve puzzles and riddles.

To find out what the magazine meant to its readers, a survey has been created that can be completed in either Latvian or English. We invite you to share your childhood memories and experiences of Mazputniņš: what the magazine meant to you, what you enjoyed about it, and what you perhaps did not like.

The survey will be open until 18 November.

The survey is available here.

If you know others who read Mazputniņš as a child, please forward this survey to them!

Thank you for your time and participation!

Daina Grosa, PhD
Latvian diaspora member and migration researcher at the University of Latvia

Asnate Rancāne, beyond being the leader of the popular Latvian ethno-pop ensemble Tautumeitas, is also an experienced and highly knowledgeable folklorist and musicologist who has studied not just Latvian folklore and folk music, but also folk songs of many European cultures. For more than a decade now, she has had a productive creative relationship with double bassist Stanislav Yudin, and the duo have engaged in many musical explorations inspired by European folk music. Their first album – Op. 2 – was released in 2017, and explored not just Latvian folk songs, but also songs from Bulgaria, Ukraine, and elsewhere. The duo released their second album – Op. 3 – in 2026, and that album continues and expands their musical visions and horizons.

Much like its predecessor, Op. 3 cannot truly be considered a ‘folk music’ album – though all of the songs on the album are inspired by folk songs, they are more the starting point, an inspiration for improvisation and experimentation. This often means that, in the end, there are only faint traces of the original folk song. However, what makes this collection of recordings so engrossing and compelling is the duo’s presentation of this musical journey – the creative process that takes them from the original song to the end result.

Beyond Rancāne and Yudin, the sonic palette on the album is supplemented by additional musicians including pianist Edgars Cīrulis, violinist Aleksejs Bahirs, Arvydas Kazlauskas playing the saxophones, and Artis Orubs on percussion.

Many of the works on the album have an improvisational nature. In an interview with Latvijas Radio Klasika, Rancāne delved into the creative process, such as on ‘Kur zeme’, where Yudin simply started playing when the recording started, and Rancāne combined that with the Prussian folk song “Mīla swāiksta Saulīka” (the dear, bright Sun). Yudin’s double bass traverses a broad sonic range, from a thundering introduction to a more somber middle section, while Rancāne repeats the folk song words as a kind of mantra, creating a layered, intricate modern interpretation of this ancient song.

Rancāne has often included Balkan songs and motifs in her recordings, and Op. 3 also contains songs from Bulgaria, such as the ‘Radina’, a song about a girl who has married, but longs for her father’s home. Rancāne and Yudin, along with their colleagues, create an authentic Balkan atmosphere with their rhythmic and dynamic performance. Yudin, while ostensibly a jazz musician, displays his innate grasp and understanding of folk music in this recording.

The geographical radius of the duo’s musical explorations expands to include the British Isles, specifically Scotland with their performance of the folk song ‘Johnny Lad’, as well as ‘Harp Song of the Dane Woman’, based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Rancāne provides an emotional, somber performance on ‘Harp Song’, while Yudin provides an energetic, animated foundation for ‘Johnny Lad’.

Further advancing and developing their creative explorations of the folk songs of Europe, Op. 3 vividly displays the talents of singer Asnate Rancāne and double bassist Stanislav Yudin. The engrossing musical journey on the album begins in Latvia, travels south to the Balkans, then to the northwest to the British Isles, all the while creating distinctive and original interpretations and performances.

For further information, please visit the Asnate Rancāne and Stanislav Yudin Bandcamp page.

Op.3

Asnate Rancāne and Stanislav Yudin

Jersika Records, 2026

Track listing:

1. Kur zeme

2. Kiukuoja zagiuze uobelī

3. Rotā

4. Bre, Petrunko

5. Kade pārnāksi?

6. Radina

7. Harp song of the Dane woman

8. Tumša nakts

9. Johnny Lad