Author: Egils Kaljo

Mixed choir Sõla celebrate 20th anniversary with double album

Egils Kaljo | 

The Latvian Academy of Culture Mixed Choir Sõla is one of the premiere amateur choirs in Latvia. Praised not just for their technical skill, but also their nuanced and artistically rich performances, the choir has achieved success and renown not just in Latvia but worldwide. The choir was one of the finalists in the European Grand Prix choir competition in 2017, and were also the guest choir and the 2017 Latvian American Song Festival in Baltimore.

Much of the success and recognition that the choir has achieved can be attributed to lead conductor and artistic director Kaspars Ādamsons, who, with his boundless energy as well as deep appreciation and understanding of music, inspires his singers to achieve greater and greater heights. Ādamsons was the conductor for two of the songs at the 2018 All Latvian Song and Dance Celebration closing concert at the Mežaparks amphitheater – the joyful and vibrant folk song ‘Gaismeņa ausa, sauļeite lēce’ and the somber, powerful ‘Tavas saknes tavā zemē’, which displayed his versatility and skill as a conductor.

The choir celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2018, and, to mark this occasion, released a two CD album entitled Dziedot dzimu, dziedot augu. The goal of this collection is to spotlight the diversity and variety of Latvian composers throughout the years. The collection contains a total of twenty songs, and, to highlight the geographic areas of Latvia, four composers were selected from each of the geographic areas of Latvia – Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme, Latgale, as well as Riga. Additionally, to add a layer of complexity to the calculus, ten of the songs are folk song arrangements, while ten are original works. Using these requirements to select the works included in the collection has resulted in a truly diverse collection of songs by composers both well-known and less familiar. Ādamsons, along with assistant conductors Laura Štoma and Artūrs Oskars Mitrevics, have created a comprehensive and compelling document of Latvian choir music.

The collection covers almost the entire history of Latvian choir music, and includes early choir music works such as Jāzeps Vītols dramatic and solemn lament for three downed oak trees in ‘Dievozolu trijotne’, as well as Pēteris Barisons’ lively and spirited ‘Pa zvaigžņu ceļu’. The collection begins with a joyous and rousing rendition of Alfrēds Kalniņš’ arrangement of the folk song ‘Dziedot dzimu, dziedot augu’.

One of the benefits of the constraints set by the choir for the included repertoire is that it allows for some less well known composers to be represented on the album. Listeners will have the opportunity to become familiar with composers such as Ainars Plezers, who provides an arrangement of the folk song ‘Trīs sidraba upītes’, full of undulating harmonies, as well as Solvita Ivanova, who provides a wintry scene in ‘Bij dziļa ziema’, creating a snowy musical landscape with poet Rainis’ text.

Some of the composers have a limited link for their corresponding region – for example, Canadian Latvian composer Imants Ramiņš is included as one of the composers from Kurzeme (indeed, the composer was born in Ventspils, but he and his family fled during the war when he was just one year old). However, this allowed for the inclusion of Ramiņš’ arrangement of the folk song ‘Pūt, vējiņi!’, which is one of the most beautiful modern folk song arrangements. The gentle, constant flow of the song as it builds to a crescendo provides for a stirring interpretation of the song.

Though all the composers represented are from Latvia, not all of the songs are in Latvian, for example Ēriks Ešenvalds’ ‘Only in Sleep’. This slightly sentimental song is elevated by soprano Laura Štoma’s soaring solo, displaying Ešenvalds’ talent for creating memorable melodies. The spiritual ‘В начале было Слово…’ (In the Beginning was the Word) by Pēteris Butāns balances a mysterious, mystical introduction with a tormented prayer for mercy.

Perhaps the most momentous performance on the album is the choir’s rendition of Pēteris Vasks’ ‘Mūsu māšu vārdi’, a work nearly ten minutes in length. As with many of Vasks’ works, the work is full of dramatic tension and conflict, as well as themes of nature – the titular mothers of the Māris Čaklais poem are birds. The work concludes with the choir providing birdsongs, representing birds nesting in the trees.

The CD booklet contains extensive notes on the composers and compositions by musicologist Orests Silabriedis in both Latvian and English, as well as the texts and translations for all the songs. In a charming touch, the booklet also includes both recent and childhood photos of all the choir members.

Over the course of its twenty songs, Dziedot dzimu, dziedot augu provides for a vivid panorama of Latvian choir music – well-known as well as lesser known works and composers, folk song arrangements and original compositions, covering a broad musical spectrum of nearly 150 years of Latvian choir music. The choir Sõla, guided by their indefatigable and inspired conductor Kaspars Ādamsons, again confirm their status as one of the top amateur choirs in Latvia, with their technical ability complemented by their emotionally and artistically rich interpretations.

For further information, please visit the mixed choir Sõla website.

Track listing

Dziedot dzimu, dziedot augu

Sõla

2018

CD 1 – Folk song arrangements

  1. Dziedot dzimu, dziedot augu – Alfrēds Kalniņš
  2. Tu skaistõ Dīva dõrza rūze – Rihards Dubra
  3. Trīs sidraba upītes – Ainars Plezers
  4. Aizej, lietiņ’ – Ilona Rupaine
  5. Ziņģe par kumeļu un līgavu – Marģeris Zariņš
  6. Jūra krāca, jūra šņāca – Oskars Šepskis
  7. Pērkonami melni zirgi – Vilnis Šmīdbergs
  8. Muote dieleņu auklēja – Juris Vaivods
  9. Līgo! – Ārijs Šķepasts
  10. Pūt, vējiņi! – Imants Ramiņš

CD 2 – Original music

  1. Akmeni satikt – Līga Celma-Kursiete
  2. Pa zvaigžņu ceļu – Pēteris Barisons
  3. Bij dziļa ziema – Solvita Ivanova
  4. Vienu pašu – Ādolfs Ābele
  5. Dievozolu trijotne – Jāzeps Vītols
  6. В начале было Слово… – Pēteris Butāns
  7. Only in Sleep – Ēriks Ešenvalds
  8. Pēc vienkāršības noilgojies prāts – Georgs Pelēcis
  9. Mūsu māšu vārdi – Pēteris Vasks
  10. Tavas saknes tavā zemē – Pēteris Plakidis

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.

Youth folklore group “Oglīte” celebrate 25 years, release folksong album

Egils Kaljo | 

Oglīte is a children’s and youth folklore group from the Ropaži region in Latvia. Recently, the group celebrated their 25th anniversary, and released an album of folksongs, entitled Lustīte mana, laimīte mana in 2018.

Not only do Oglīte sing and play musical instruments, but the ensemble also includes other cultural elements in their performances, such as dancing and games. Ranging in age from 7 to 20, Oglīte have performed in many Latvian towns, as well as varied European Union countries. The leader of the ensemble is Ligita Šreibere.

Most of the album is vocal performances, with some instrumental accompaniment, such as on the song ‘Ziedi, ziedi, āra pļava’, which features a solemn string based introduction which then leads to unaccompanied harmonic singing by the ensemble.

There are also elements of the traditional Latvian ‘calling style’ singing in songs like ‘Es savos bāliņos’, which features a confident and authentic vocal performance by Līva Ozola. There are also traditional Latvian instruments like the kokle on songs like ‘Skaisti ziedi pureniņi’, as well as the stabule on the instrumental ‘Kaķ’ādiņa’, a duet between Līva Ozola and Undīne Simbirceva.

There are many dance songs on the album, such as the lively ‘Ciganovskis’, as well as the more subdued ‘Henķa polka’, performed on the kokle by Anitra Berga. The group also performs instrumental works from outside of Latvia, such as the woeful ‘Igauņu subate’ from Estonia, and the slightly sentimental ‘Shottis’ from Finland.

The album also has a few humorous moments, such as on ‘Gulu, gulu’, where the narrator refuses to wake up, claiming a frightful headache, until his true bride comes along and he miraculously recovers to be able to go along with her. The song ‘Lāci, lāci’ also instructs the bear to wash his mouth before he gets any porridge.

The collection ends on the positive and uplifting title song ‘Lustīte mana, laimīte mana’, a song about happiness and good fortune following one wherever one goes, leaving ones sadness by the side of the road, and not worrying about going off to war.

Though performed mainly by children, Lustīte mana, laimīte mana is not necessarily a children’s album – the vocal and instrumental performances, as well as the song selection, reveals a certain maturity. The arrangements are usually simple, if not sparse, which result in the performances being quite intimate and personal. Including a variety of Latvian folk elements and styles, Lustīte mana, laimīte mana is a well-performed and engaging album, confirming the talents of this young ensemble.

Lustīte mana, laimīte mana

Oglīte

Lauska CD076, 2018

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.

Two symphonies by Ivanovs, Karlsons, titled “1945” released on one album

Egils Kaljo | 

1945 was one of the most traumatic years in world history, particularly in Latvia. The Soviet occupation, which had already begun in 1944, added to the misery of many years of war which left Latvia and many other nations devastated. Much of Latvia, Rīga in particular, was in ruins, with rubble remaining where many buildings once stood.

Many composers have found inspiration for their composition from the years of war, and two Latvian composers have created works influenced specifically by the year 1945. The first was the renowned 20th century symphonist Jānis Ivanovs, who entitled his 5th symphony ‘1945’. Also, composer Juris Karlsons gave his music for symphony orchestra the title ‘1945’ (the work itself was composed in 1985). Recognizing the significance of these two compositions in the canon of Latvian symphonic music, as well as the musical and historical links between the works and the composers themselves, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Poga, recorded these two works, which were then released by the Latvian state record label Skani on the album Ivanovs. Karlsons. 1945 in 2018.

Nearly forty-five minutes in length, Ivanovs’ 5th symphony is a monumental work, weaving together weighty themes of war and destruction, of terror and hopelessness. Ivanovs himself said little about the work, save for the laconic comment “This contains everything that had accumulated over those years.”

The first movement has frequent bursts of sounds, similar to alarms, and the brass instruments provide a dark, pulsating sound to contrast with the shrill strings, while the slow and somber 2nd movement begins as a kind of funeral music, with the flutes and clarinets playing what sounds like a melody of confusion, of something difficult to understand. There is a rise in tension over the course of the movement, and a general ominous sense of unease.  

The 3rd movement features a section with a solo trumpet, which then leads into an almost sentimental melody, which briefly becomes a waltz, perhaps recalling a time before the war began. The 4th movement then brings the work to a thunderous close with a kind of emotional upheaval that bursts forth, a cataclysmic finale to this emotionally strained opus.

According to the extensive and fascinating historical notes by musicologist Orests Silabriedis in the CD booklet, the work initially enjoyed praise and recognition from the Soviet authorities. However, beginning in 1948, there was an extensive reevaluation of music in the Soviet Union and the work was now condemned, and Ivanovs was even forced to repent publically for composing the work, and then, to ‘rehabilitate’ himself, had to compose a more ‘appropriate’ work – his 6th symphony, which was considered as something that could be ‘understood by all’. It was only much later when Ivanovs’ 5th symphony was spoken of positively again. There are many historical details and anecdotes in the booklet, and the text is in both Latvian and English.

Juris Karlsons, born in 1948, was a student of Ivanovs, and even completed Ivanovs’ final symphony. In 1985, to honor the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, Karlsons was asked to compose a work to mark the occasion, and he provided the symphonic work 1945. Further strengthening the link between these two works, the premiere of Karlsons’ work also included a performance of Ivanovs’ 5th symphony.  Drawing inspiration from meeting actual survivors of the siege of Leningrad, Karlsons’ 1945 is a similarly fateful and dramatic work. It even begins with the representation of the year in musical form (1st – C, 9th – D flat, 4th – F, and 5th G flat). There are brief moments of lightness and even tenderness in the work, and an accordion makes an appearance in the middle of the work, perhaps to indicate a farewell event for soldiers leaving for war (and perhaps even homage to the similar waltz section of Ivanovs’ work). The work comes to an expansively dramatic conclusion, perhaps to signify the victory of the Soviet forces.

The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted  by Andris Poga, has created memorable and evocative performances of these two major works. The deft and precise performance of the orchestra brings out the artistry in both of the symphony works, creating detailed musical imagery that reveals the many sonic facets in these works, from terror and fear to a fragile sense of peace, and even triumph.  Ivanovs. Karlsons. 1945 is an affecting and moving document of these works inspired by the tragic events of 1945.

Ivanovs. Karlsons. 1945

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

Skani, SKANI062, 2018

Track listing:

  • 1. Jānis Ivanovs • Symphony No. 5: I Moderato. Maestoso – Allegro
  • 2. Jānis Ivanovs • Symphony No. 5: II Andante
  • 3. Jānis Ivanovs • Symphony No. 5: III Allegro
  • 4. Jānis Ivanovs • Symphony No. 5: IV Moderato
  • 5. Juris Karlsons • Music for Symphony Orchestra 1945

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.