First Ziedonis, then Rainis, now Čaks: Another writer gets musical treatment

This seems to be a year of greatly renewed interest in Latvian poets, particularly by musicians. In what is now the third such release this year, the work of famed Latvian poet Aleksandrs Čaks is featured on Domās par tevi, a set of two compact discs.

The poetry of Imants Ziedonis was set to music on Viegli, released May 1, while the Strāvoklis project, unveiled later in May, featured the poetry of Jānis Rainis.

The record label Upe tuviem un tāliem released Domās par tevi in cooperation with the Aleksandrs Čaks Memorial Apartment, a museum in Rīga honoring the writer.

The first CD contains poetry read by actor Vilis Daudziņš, with occasional guitar accompaniment by Kaspars Zemītis.

The second CD contains songs with the words of Čaks, including such popular titles as “Atzīšanās (Miglā asaro logs)” and “Tev (Liepas satumst)”, as well as new musical interpretations of his poetry. The CD features performances by actors Artis Robežnieks (vocals and guitar), Artūrs Skrastiņš (vocals), Kaspars Zemītis (guitar) as well as previously recorded performances by actor Ivars Kalniņš and composer Arturs Maskats, as well as composer Uldis Stabulnieks.

Tracks on the CD include:

  1. Orman, saki kurp mums steigties (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  2. Mēs sēdējām ostmalas krogā (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  3. Sirds citā vietā trīc (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  4. Viss senais klusi prātā nāk (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  5. Tīk man (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  6. Savādā meitene (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  7. Ne jaunkundzēm es savas rindas rakstu (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  8. Vakara apskaidrība (music composed and performed by Artis Robežnieks)
  9. Romance (composer Pēteris Plakidis, performed by Artūrs Skrastiņš and Kaspars Zemītis)
  10. Atzīšanās (Miglā asaro logs) (composer unknown, performed by Artūrs Skrastiņš and Kaspars Zemītis)
  11. Ormaņa dziesma (composer Imants Kalniņš, performed by Artūrs Skrastiņš and Kaspars Zemītis)
  12. Tev (Liepas satumst) (composer unknown, performed by Artūrs Skrastiņš and Kaspars Zemītis)
  13. Romance (performed by Ivars Kalniņš and composer Artūrs Maskats)
  14. Rīgai (performed by Ivars Kalniņš and composer Artūrs Maskats)
  15. Marijas iela (performed by composer Uldis Stabulnieks)

Čaks, who would have marked his 110th birthday in 2011, was one of the most celebrated of 20th century Latvian writers and was known for his expressive and lyrical poetry. His poems were often about Rīga, and were known for their depictions of the grimier and seedier side of the city.

Aleksandrs Čaks, Domās par tev

With the release of Domās par tevi, the latest Latvian writer to get a musical treatment is Aleksandrs Čaks.

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.

New 1-lat Latvian coins honor Rīga and, just in time for Jāņi, beer

To honor the 810th anniversary of the city’s founding, the Bank of Latvia has released a commemorative silver coin honoring the capital of Rīga. Also issued is a coin marking the Latvian midsummer celebration, Jāņi.

The proof quality Rīga coin was designed by Gunārs Krollis with plastic molding by Jānis Strupulis. It has a nominal value of 1 lat and features the city’s coat of arms on the obverse and a panorama of Rīga on the reverse.

The 15,000 coins were minted by Rahapaja Oy of Finland. The coin is meant for collectors and will not go into general circulation, according to the Bank of Latvia.

The Rīga coin completes the eight-piece Hanseatic League series. Each coin in the series commemorates one of the Hanseatic League cities in Latvia. Previously released were coins for Ventspils, Straupe, Limbaži, Koknese, Kuldīga, Valmiera and Cēsis. Rīga joined the Hanseatic League, a mercantile organization of many cities around the Baltic Sea, in 1282.

Additionally, just in time for Jāņi, the bank has released a 1-lat coin with an image of a beer stein. The coin was designed by Juris Dimiters (graphical design) and Andris Vārpa (plastic molding).

The beer stein lat was minted by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt of the Netherlands. A total of 1 million coins will be put into circulation, according to the Bank of Latvia.

The coins are available for purchase at branches of the Bank of Latvia.

New Latvian coins

New 1-lat coins issued by the Bank of Latvia honor Rīga (left) and beer. (Photos courtesy of Bank of Latvia)

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.

Indie musicians record album with songs based on works of Rainis

In a similar vein to the Viegli project, in which contemporary singers interpreted the poetry of Imants Ziedonis, the Strāvoklis project features a mix of bands offering their take on the works of Jānis Rainis, perhaps Latvia’s best known poet.

Released in May, the recording contains 19 songs performed by a wide variety of independent Latvian groups. The project was initiated by producer and electronic music performer Andris Indāns and realized with the help of Edgars Šubovskis (of the popular indie Latvian group Hospitāļu iela) and Dita Ābola (who has also worked with Hospitāļu iela).

Ensembles performing on the album include not just indie stalwarts like Hospitāļu iela, Inokentijs Mārpls and HMP?, but also songwriter Imants Daksis and folk groups Iļģi and Auļi.

The project was celebrated with an event at the Rainis Monument in Rīga on May 4 to coincide with the anniversary of the renewal of Latvian independence.

Besides being released on compact disc, the album can also be downloaded for a donation at stravoklis.bandcamp.com.

The album includes:

  1. Hospitāļu iela, “Laukā”
  2. Bērnības Milicija, “Akmens”
  3. Židrūns, “Fabrikas meitenes dziesma”
  4. Jēkabs Nīmanis, “Svilpojošs vējš”
  5. STandART, “Bez miega zirgi”
  6. Ēnu kaleidoskops, “Kāvi”
  7. Rosewater, “Svētvakars”
  8. Inokentijs Mārpls, “Mūžīgā saskaņā”
  9. Imants Daksis, “Mērens vējiņš”
  10. isms, “Vaida”
  11. Iļģi, “Dārgumu trauks”
  12. Gaujarts, “Drebošā sirds”
  13. Latvijas Gāze, “Grāmatā ar melnām lapām”
  14. Soundarcade, “Sena aukles dziesma”
  15. hmp?, “vientuļa miegaina”
  16. Auļi, “Ko sējējs bēdā”
  17. Jana Hermann, “Saules grieži”
  18. $KODEK & TVMASKAVA, “Tā nevar palikt, tā nepaliks”
  19. Nepilngadīgā Anna, “Svilpojošs vējš”

For more on the Strāvoklis project, visit www.stravoklis.lv.

Strāvoklis

The Strāvoklis album features indie Latvian musicians performing songs based on the works of poet Jānis Rainis.

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.