While other Latvian-American ensembles of the late 20th century performed popular and traditional tunes, Kolibri made its mark by performing Latvian folk songs, often with its own arrangements.

Though the ensemble has long since ceased active performance, it certainly has not been forgotten. A collection of Kolibri’s folk song arrangements and performances entitled Kolibri atskatās / Kolibri Reminisces was released in November 2009.

Formed in Boston in 1976 and most active through the 1980s, the ensemble made a name for itself with its professionalism, its unique arrangements of folk songs, and for raising the profile of Latvian music in not just the United States, but also worldwide. Kolibri made a number of appearances on American radio, articles about the ensemble appeared in the press, and it even performed at Carnegie Hall. Kolibri’s career, which included four albums, came to an end in the early 1990s.

The ensemble featured a number of distinguished Latvian-American composers. Some of the ensemble’s songs even became popular Latvian choir material. The best example is Anita Kuprisa’s arrangement of the folk song “Ģērbies saule, sudrabota,” which remains a staple of the Latvian choir music repertoire and frequently is heard in song festivals (and is a piece most all choir singers can sing by heart).

Other composers in the ensemble include brothers Mārtiņš and Pēteris Aldiņš, as well as Imants Mežaraups. The group also performed arrangements by noted composer Andrejs Jansons. A number of artists performed with the ensemble through its existence, including Līga Aldiņa, Juris Broks, Pamela Ambrose, Lalita Saliņa, Laura Padega-Zāmura, Pēteris Sils, Jānis Ozols and Ruta Dambis-Ruice.

What I particularly like about the arrangements on Kolibri atskatās / Kolibri Reminisces is that many of them are of folk songs that are heard less often, even obscure. Kolibri shines new light on these long-forgotten melodies. For example, the album opener, the Latgallian “Malni muni kumeleņi” (a song originally written down by composer Emils Melngailis), is a rousing tune with some beautiful kokles work arranged by Pēteris Aldiņš.

Kolibri’s use of flute and percussion give many of the songs an almost Renaissance music feel to them, such as on “Šūpļa dziesma” by Pēteris Aldiņš and “Tu māsiņa, es māsiņa” by Mežaraups.

It is also a treat to hear the original version of Kurprisa’s arrangement of “Ģērbies, saule, sudrabota.” The song also has a non-traditional beat—5/8—something not often encountered in Latvian folk songs!

Though most of the arrangements on this record are on the shorter side, there are a few “long form” works, for example the nearly 11-minute-long “Vedat mani dziedādami!,” which is actually an arrangement of multiple Latvian funeral songs.

The album closes with three different interpretations of the folk song “Sidrabiņa lietiņš lija,” by Pēteris Aldiņš, Kuprisa and Mārtiņš Aldiņš, respectively, with each composer offering their own unique interpretation of the winter solstice song.

In addition to the great music contained on the compact disc, there is also a wealth of information on the ensemble and the songs, in both Latvian and English. There are biographies of the group and its members, as well as some notes on each song, which are particularly interesting to read as they give an insight into the composition and arrangement process.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a rebirth of interest in Latvian folk song interpretations not just in Latvia, but also in the diaspora. One of the ensembles at the forefront of this movement was Kolibri. Kolibri atskatās is a particularly significant and enjoyable document of the period.

With the wealth of talent offered by members of the ensemble, it is actually not much of a surprise that they were able to make such great music together. Providing a fresh look at these ancient melodies, Kolibri made a name for itself as one of the definitive folk song interpreters in not just the United States, but worldwide. Taking its place among other Latvian folk song performers such as Iļģi and Skandinieki, Kolibri is one of the most important Latvian-American ensembles, and Kolibri atskatās is a particularly satisfying collection of the group’s arrangements, with many beautiful and memorable performances.

For the 90th anniversary of railroading in Latvia, the Latvian Railway History Museum last year released a DVD, Latvijas dzelzceļu populārā vēsture, containing six short films relating to trains in the country.

The railway museum, owned by Latvijas dzelzceļš (Lavian Railway), also published a coffee table book, in Latvian and English, on the history of the railway, and a photo album entitled Dzelzceļš Rīgā un pieskārieni dvēselei (The Railway in Rīga – Soul-touching Reminiscences).

The DVD, just under an hour in total length, collects some intriguing and fascinating, though brief, glimpses of the history of trains in Latvia.

By far the most interesting film on the collection is “Mazbānītis de facto,” which is a documentary on the history of the narrow gauge countryside rails built in Latvia during World War I. Most all of these rails are gone today, but a particularly nice touch in the documentary is to provide historical pictures of where the stations used to be situated, as well as what stands there today (some station houses are still in place, though the rails have long been replaced by roads).

Also interesting is “Kādas lokomotīves stāsts,” which is a five-minute short on the restoration process of the ML 657 locomotive in Ventspils, and its journey to the Railway Museum in Rīga.

A 10-minute film simply called “Mazbānītis,” made by Ērmanis Rodis in 1985, presents a brief journey with a narrow gauge locomotive that is in his collection.

Additionally, there is “Sapņu ekspresis,” a flight of fancy in the imagination of a young child who sees himself as a conductor, engineer and as the station head. There is also a music video, “Vilciens nāk!,” set to the tune of “Lokomotīve jūras krastā” by Latvian electronic music pioneers Dzeltenie pastnieki. The collection is rounded out by “Muzeja nakts,” a 2-minute glimpse of the yearly event Museum Night, when most every museum in Latvia can be visited for free and stays open late, and usually provides some sort of unique activity or presentation for that night only.

All the features are in Latvian, but all selections feature subtitles in English and Russian. The DVD is also multi-region, so it can be played on DVD players worldwide.

The DVD is a fun watch, but is really rather brief. I would have been interested to see a more in-depth documentary on the whole of Latvian Railway, but I suppose this DVD is merely meant as a complement to the book, which offers a very thorough history of the Latvian rail system, with many pictures and historical notes on most every station that once was in the system. Though considering Latvia’s turbulent past there are still many untold stories in the history of the railway, this DVD provided a charming, yet short, overview of trains in Latvia.