Savieši album has favorites and more treasures

Pirmie 25

When you find a compact disc with your favorite song on it—particularly when it’s a less-often heard Latvian folksong—you buy it. This is precisely what happened when I saw the CD Pirmie 25 by Latvia’s folk ensemble Savieši. Fortunately, the CD contains a number of treasures and is worth buying for more than just one song. 

Although Savieši has been in existence for a number of years, it only recently released its first CD. The recording’s 25 songs offer a wide variety musically, geographically and historically. Savieši was formed in 1980 by the now well-known ethnomusicologist Valdis Muktupāvels. The group’s mentors were Skandenieki, widely known as the grandparents of the Latvian folk movement.

Most of the songs on the CD are sung a cappella, but a few are accompanied by instruments such as kokle, trejdeksnis or a drum, and there is one instrumental dance tune, “Augškojenieku dancis.”

The first six songs are from the group’s early years. They have the simple yet pleasant sound of Latvian folk music recorded in the 1980s.

The song for which I bought the CD is “Dziedātaju māsu devu.”  I knew only three verses, but on the CD the song is five verses long. The lyrics are about the power of song—how very Latvian!

One song I have grown to love thanks to this CD is “Saule rāja mānestiņu,” which has beautiful lyrics about the sun, moon and stars, as well as a lovely harmony.

The songs that I enjoyed most were the ones which showcased the pure strength and energy of Latvian music.  One example is “Es piedzimu māmiņai,” another song about the importance of song. In this tune the men drone while the women sing the lyrics, an effective method that Savieši employs more than once for those that are considered women’s songs.

“Zīdit, zīdit, uora pļovas” is a powerful song that makes me want to quickly learn the Latgallian lyrics so that I can sing along from the depths of my lungs. The Savieši version makes it sound like there are several dozen people singing, although in reality I imagine that no more than a dozen did.

The CD contains several rather uncommon songs. One is “Kur tu teci miega pele,” a peaceful children’s lullaby. It has a “pai pai” refrain that I’d never heard and, like so many Latvian folk songs, a great little story. Two songs, “Pa vējame es dziedāju” and “Suni reja, vilki kauca,” were first collected by a member of Savieši in Lithuania in 1988. Both of these songs have melodies unlike anything one would hear among other Latvian folk songs. Another interesting song is “Gotiņ, gotiņ, lelo,” which follows few of the conventions we are used to when it comes to traditional Latvian songs.

Of course, not all Latvian songs are about happy events such as weddings or about the beauty of nature.  “Svātdin agri buoryneite” is about an orphan girl visiting her deceased mother’s grave and crying about the treatment she receives from her new stepmother. Even if one were unable to understand the lyrics, one would sense from the heartbreakingly beautiful melody that the song is not about a joyful topic.

The liner notes contain a short history of Savieši both in Latvian and Eglish. The notes also contain lyrics for each song, but unfortunately no English-language synopsis. My favorite thing is that the listings for many songs also indicate from which area of Latvia they come, and often in what year the songs were first collected. Additionally, several list the name of the person from whom the song was collected. Many Latvians are familiar with Krišjānis Barons, who collected folk songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, yet few people know that enterprising individuals continued to collect Latvian folk songs for many years after that. This CD includes songs collected in surprising years such as 1940 and 1945, and as recently as 1988 and 1991, when members of Savieši undertook expeditions to collect folksongs in areas such as Lubāna (in Latgale, Latvia’s eastern region) and Lithuania’s Butinges Sventaja. 

The CD also contains a couple dozen photographs of Savieīi through the years. These can only be looked at by using a computer.

Overall Pirmie 25 is an excellent CD that will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates Latvian folk music.

Details

Pirmie 25

Savieši

Savieši,  2007

A whole year’s worth of folk songs

Dievsēta ļaudis

The number of Latvian folk music recordings seems to be growing almost as quickly as wild mushrooms after a rainy summer. Some recordings have specific themes, such as war songs or lullabies, while others cover songs from a certain holiday such as Jāņi or the winter solstice. Until now, I have not been aware of a single recording that attempts to incorporate music of the entire Latvian calendar with all of its holidays. A group of Latvian-Americans has filled exactly this shortcoming. An informative new compact disc, Gadskārtu dziesmas, has recently been released by Dievsētas ļaudis (the folks of Dievsēta).

For 30 years a group of Latvians with a keen interest in folk traditions has been gathering at Dievsēta, a property owned by the Latvju dievturu sadraudze in central Wisconsin, to celebrate holidays—not just the popular Jāņi, but also lesser known ones such as Mārtiņi and Meteņi.

The booklet that accompanies the CD is a treasure trove of information. Its 64 pages include English and Latvian language descriptions of the seven holidays represented by songs on the CD, lyrics and notes for all 43 songs, as well as a number of beautiful photographs from Dievsēta. Each song is also described in one or two succinct sentences in English. The following holidays are represented on the recording: Meteņi (5 songs), Lieldienas (5 songs), Ūsiņi (2 songs), Jāņi (7 songs), Apjumības and Miķeļi (7 songs), Mārtiņi (7 songs) and Ziemassvētki (10 songs).

Glancing at the list of individuals who participated in the CD recording, I noticed names of people who have sung or currently sing with folk ensembles based both in the United States and Latvia. Thus, the quality of the music on the recording is actually quite good. The CD contains a variety of a cappella songs by just one person or a group, as well as songs accompanied by a number of different instruments.

One of the things that I love most about some Latvian songs is the imagery. This is most evident in songs about the sun. The fifth track is a Meteņi song called “Saule savus kumeliņus.” As beautifully summarized by the liner notes, “At sunset the sun takes her horses to the sea to swim, while she herself sits at the top of the hill with the golden reins in her hand.” This song has a simple yet lovely melody. On the CD the song is sung a cappella by just one female, which unfortunately makes it sound a bit too plain. But, with more than three dozen songs on the recording, I did find quite a few songs that I greatly enjoyed.

Many listeners might find track 11, “Tumša nakte, zaļa zāle,” of interest. Listeners might assume this song to be a familiar one, as it is the title of a popular folk song that many children learn in school. Yet, one needs to remember the great diversity in Latvian folk music and thus not be surprised that the melody and—indeed—most of the lyrics of this song are different than the one many people will know.

The seven Jāņi songs have a nice variety of melodies. Anyone who ever tries to sing songs at Jāņi could learn something from these. It seems that most Latvians know only one overused, tired melody for līgo songs. One of the Jāņi songs is sung by children, reminding the listener of the importance of passing traditions down to the younger generations.

Two other songs I greatly enjoyed were “Rudzu druva lielījās” (track 20), a song about work sung at Apjumības, and “Laid iekšā, saimeniece” (track 34), a Ziemassvētki song with a great, party-like tempo and sound.

Many Latvians have never celebrated a holiday such as Miķeli, therefore most songs on the recording will be new to listeners. Even as someone who sings with a Latvian folk ensemble and has participated in a number of folklore activities at 3×3 camps, the majority of songs on this CD were unfamiliar to me. This might be a turnoff for some people, as many individuals seem to prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar. Precisely that is the frustrating thing about Latvian folk music: it is ironic that so many Latvians are familiar with only a couple dozen tunes when the wealth of Latvian folklore is in its folk songs, most of which unfortunately go unsung and unheard.

Because these songs have such specific purposes, this is also probably not the type of CD one would listen to over and over again. However, if one has an interest in Latvian folklore and its traditional holidays and in the diversity of Latvian folk music, and has always wondered how a holiday such as Mārtiņi is celebrated, then Gadskārtu dziesmas will be a wonderful addition to one’s music collection.

Details

Gadskārtu dziesmas

Dievsēta ļaudis

Lauska,  2007

ISBN 978-9984-39-187-8

Where to buy

Purchase Gadskārtu dziesmas from BalticShop.

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San Francisco festival brings out the sun

According to a West Coast Latvian Song Festival insider, the management of last summer’s song festival hotel in Chicago had only one complaint about the Latvian guests who overtook their hotel last July: too many tried to cram into the elevators, causing one elevator to get stuck with approximately 27 guests onboard. This might explain the brightly colored signs warning guests not to crowd into elevators in San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill hotel, site of the recent 14th West Coast Latvian Song Festival.

I knew I was in for a good Latvian week soon after my arrival in California. A friend (Latvian, of course) and I flew to San Francisco, and did some driving and sightseeing for a few days before settling down in San Francisco for the festival, which ran from Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Our first evening was spent in Monterey, where we ran into Zinta Zariņa, head of the festival’s organizing committee, and her husband in a grocery store. The world sure is small when you’re Latvian!

I was surprised at the number of Latvians who made the trip to San Francisco from places such as Minneapolis or New York. But I suppose some of us have a great (or, maybe, unnatural) love for song festivals and wish to generously support the travel industry. Perhaps some had heard about previous West Coast song festivals—how the smaller scale make them very friendly and relaxed.

The festival began Aug. 28 with a cabaret performance and a cable car bar-hop aimed at the younger crowd. Naturally, the younger people on the cable car tour had a great time. And the reviews I heard of the cabaret were nothing but rave.

Friday, Aug. 29, was the busiest day for most festivalgoers. It began with the opening ceremony, which, like most such Latvian events, featured speeches that tended to run a few sentences too long.

But the entertainment portion featured the wonderful Los Angeles men’s choir, looking rather dashing in their tuxedos. These 18 men, many of whom are on the younger side (particularly for a Latvian choir), were a joy to listen to and watch, particularly when singing more energetic songs. The audience most enjoyed the song “Mūžu mūžos būs dziesma,” with its appropriate words: “Mūžu mūžos būs dziesma, mūžu mūžos alus smeķes; Un dziesmu svētkos ies meitenes baltās zeķēs.” Another song that emphasized their masculinity had the words, “Meitenes brunči ir karogs man” (at which point the choir saluted). The encore, “Manai dzimtenei,” also was a hit.

Unfortunately, the event began late, and ended only a few minutes before the next one was supposed to begin. This had major ramifications for the rest of the day.

The youth musical, “Gudrais padomiņš” (Good Advice), began a half-hour late, and suffered bouts of poor sound quality. Neither of these problems really distracted from the brilliance of this new musical. The text author and director Andra St. Invanyi Berkolds, composer and musical director Lolita Ritmane and lyricist Andris Ritmanis wrote a truly enjoyable musical and did a magnificent job encouraging an incredibly talented and spunky group of kids and teens to bring the story to life.

The main characters, Linda and Miķelis, played by 15-year-old Brita Stepe and 16-year-old Aleksanders Auzers, did truly commendable jobs in their large roles. And the talent of some of the younger performers was quite amazing. The very professional set decorations, costumes and lighting added additional panache to the musical. The longer-than-expected performance (fine for adults, but a bit long for the youngest audience members) featured eleven songs. Those of us willing to spend USD 6 could purchase a beautiful program book with all the song texts, a good synopsis and fun biographies of the performers. Everyone in the room, both audience and performers, seemed to enjoy this fabulous performance. I can only hope that the musical will be performed in the future—whether by the same or different cast—so that others will be able to relish the fun story of a Latvian-American teenage girl from California and a Latvian boy from the past.

The late start of “Gudrais padomiņš” and the short period of time between the two events, held in the same ballroom, caused technical problems for the next event, the concert by Latvia’s Iļģi. Their performance began 40 minutes late, and the first half of the concert was hampered by problems with sound. By the second set, the problems were partially overcome. The second set was especially energetic and certainly many would have preferred dancing to sitting at that point. Many of the older generation, apparently not knowing what to expect, did not enjoy the concert as much as those of us who already know and love one of Latvia’s best bands.

The day ended with a 1960s theme party, where quite a few attendees wore appropriate attire. The ‘60s music played by the always-great Latvian-American band, Los Pintos, was a great addition to the party.

The big event on Saturday, Aug. 30, was the folk dance performance. The theater, located in the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts complex, had 1,000 seats and every single one was occupied. Fortunately, even the view from the very last row, where I sat, was good.

For those of us used to large-scale, arena-filling performances featuring several hundred dancers, this performance, with dance groups from only a few cities, was a drastic change. Some audience members found it refreshing, others a bit dull. However, everyone I spoke to agreed on one thing: We couldn’t understand the significance or the need for an opening solo of a song about San Francisco—in English! I, for one, do not attend Latvian folk dance performances to hear songs in English. Of the many dances performed, the crowd favorites were anything where children performed and the dance “Zaļumballe,” performed by Seattle’s Trejdeksnītis, which saw an encore. It’s hard not to enjoy a dance in which a female dancer is thrown by two male dancers into the arms of another male dancer. The dancing was greatly enhanced by the live music provided by Denveras Jurmalnieki and Iļģi.

That evening many people attended the musical “Tobago!,” about which I heard mixed reviews. At the same time the always fun Denveras Jurmalnieki were performing a free concert of dance music in the hotel. It was encouraging and rather heartwarming to see a good number of younger Latvians (mostly middle-school aged and younger) enthusiastically and willingly participating in rotaļas and dances.

The last performance was the unified choir concert. I had expected the choir to be a bit bigger; however, the beautiful and acoustically excellent San Francisco Symphony Hall did cause the choir to sound larger. The performance had been scheduled to take place at the Herbst Theater, but a few days before the festival, the city’s fire department decided that the expected number of people would be too many for the theater.

Each Latvian has choir songs they like and don’t like. A typical concert usually contains a few of each. In this concert, the overwhelming crowd favorites were anything with the children’s choir, who not only sang with the larger united choir, but also performed four songs on their own. The audience enthusiastically requested that “Jūras māte man vaicāja” (complete with appropriate gestures) be repeated. The most interesting work was “Rudentiņš pie durvīm klauvē,” featuring lyrics by Andris Ritmanis and music Lolita Ritmane, conducted by Brigita Ritmane. It was both an appropriate and very enjoyable piece.

The evening’s festival ball featured an unbeatable combination of musicians: Iļģi and Los Pintos. At times they played separately, at times together. Late in the evening an enthusiastic and well-received rendition of Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” was sung by guest performer Artūrs Rūsis (maybe better known as producer of the now-cancelled NBC television drama, Providence). The greatest cheers were elicited when he sang “Latvian girl” instead of “brown-eyed girl.”

The hotel wanted the party to be over at 2 a.m., but the partygoers and bands resisted. After the bands played a rocking, marathon version of the folk song “Bēdu, manu lielu bēdu,” the partygoers were asked to leave the ballroom. However, hotel employees did push a grand piano into the foyer—apparently in an attempt to get all those crazy Latvians to stay in one place rather than wander throughout the entire hotel. A loud and energetic singing marathon ensued, led by Chicagoan Sandra Bērzupe on the piano and a bunch of song-happy teenagers.

By the time the singing was winding down around 4 a.m., most of the Iļģi appeared with their instruments and amplifier. Band leader Ilga Reizniece loves to teach traditional Latvian dances, which is what she did for two hours (occasionally playing the fiddle and dancing simultaneously). The number of dancers and onlookers varied from about 15 to 40. The band played its final song around 6 a.m.

Then someone suggested going up to the roof to watch the sunrise. A small group of people, some of whom were still sharp enough to ensure the doors would not lock behind us and leave us stranded on the roof, did exactly that. Somehow it was an appropriate way to top off a very enjoyable West Coast Latvian Song Festival.