The internationally renowned Latvian Radio Choir has long been an advocate of new music by Latvian composers. Throughout many decades of performances, the Choir has premiered many new works, and not just Latvian composers, but also many internationally known composers, seek out the Latvian Radio Choir, due to their performance and interpretative skills.
In collaboration with the Latvian record label Skani, the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Kaspars Putniņš and Sigvards Kļava, released its latest collection of new choir music by Latvian composers in 2024. Entitled Angele Dei, the album features choir works of a sacred and spiritual nature.
Composer Pēteris Vasks has often included spiritual themes in both his choir and instrumental works, and this collection includes two of his choir songs – “Angele Dei” and “Actus Caritatis”, both based on Catholic prayers. The quietly meditative “Angele Dei” gradually builds to an emotional crescendo, and the Latvian Radio choir skillfully presents this work, with its long phrases, with an expressive, emotional depth. Similarly, “Actus Caritatis”, a slow and deliberate work, with its soaring melody, displays Vasks’ innate ability to generate moving and spiritually uplifting music.
“Sensus”, with music by Krists Auzinieks, is a highly complex work for 24 voices, is full of sonic textures and vocal effects. Based upon a fragment from Paul the Apostle’s Letter to the Romans, Auzinieks weaves together the various voices into a dynamic and robust composition. The choir deftly brings together the many disparate voices into an expansive, layered performance, creating an enveloping musical experience.
Ruta Paidere’s “Magnificat” is, as the composer herself states, an attempt to develop “a sound that was archaic but at the same time also contemporary”. Blending elements from various sources, including Jewish and Buddhist chants, as well as from Palestrina’s “Magnificat”, Paidere’s work, at times has the choir whispering, then later builds to a revelatory enlightenment at the conclusion, and the choir provides for a compelling performance of this multi-faceted work.
Andris Dzenītis is a composer who is also known for his melding of multiple styles and elements, modern sounds and traditional elements, and the two compositions on this collection – “Om, Lux Aeterna” and “Lūgšana” (Prayer) are vivid examples of his compositional style. “Om, Lux Aeterna” contains elements from Christian, Buddhist and Vedic beliefs, and, with the choir’s artistic mastery, creates a revealing journey through the world’s religions. On the other hand, “Lūgšana” (the Lord’s Prayer in Latvian) is a calmer, more reflective work, and perhaps less complex than Dzenītis’ works usually are, but still provides an emotional weight with its radiant harmonies.
Santa Ratniece’s “Nighttime Light” is a striking example of Ratniece’s distinctive style, with perhaps less focus on musical harmonies, but with more on sound textures, exploring the boundaries of what a human voice is capable of. The resulting work, at times mysterious, even slightly ominous, is still richly spiritual, and the shimmering vocals gradually dissipate at the work’s ethereal conclusion.
Perhaps the most demanding and challenging work (for both the choir and listeners) on the album is Mārtiņš Viļums’ “The Fate of King Lear’s Children”, inspired by the Irish legend ‘The Children of Lir’. The work is often harsh, with discordant harmonies, and this performance displays the skill and talents of the choir, and particularly conductor Kaspars Putniņš, who deftly weaves together all the many disparate and intricate vocal lines into a cohesive and engaging whole.
Angele Dei, beyond being another testament to the abilities of the Latvian Radio Choir and conductors Kaspars Putniņš and Sigvards Kļava, is also a compelling document of modern Latvian choir music, displaying the great range of abilities and styles currently being implemented by Latvian composers.
For further information, please visit the Latvian Radio Choir website.
Angele Dei
Latvian Radio Choir, conductors Kaspars Putniņš, Sigvards Kļava
LMIC/SKANi 163, 2024
Track listing:
1. Pēteris Vasks – Angele Dei
2. Krists Auznieks – Sensus
3. Ruta Paidere – Magnificat
4. Andris Dzenītis – Om, Lux Aeterna
5. Andris Dzenītis – Lūgšana
6. Santa Ratniece – Nighttime Light
7. Pēteris Vasks – Actus Caritatis
8. Mārtiņš Viļums – The Fate of King Lear’s Children
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.
