One of the longest running folk ensembles in Latvia has been Vecpilsētas dziedātāji, a group based out of the Rīga Technical University. The past few years saw the group reach new heights, particularly with the release of their 2013 album Puzurs, featuring songs about the winter solstice.

As the group has evolved and further developed their sound and style, they decided to change their name, and are now known as Daba San (or ‘nature hums’), a name that would more accurately reflect their sound, as many of the songs that they perform have themes of nature.

The group also continued writing and arranging songs, and has now released their first album under their new name – Vaiņags. Continuing the seasonal theme that was on Puzurs, this collection features songs that relate to the summer season, as well as Midsummer.

The ensemble is a large one, the album credits list eleven musicians, with nine of those musicians providing vocals. With such a large ensemble, and with a variety of voices, Vaiņags is a diverse and engaging collection of songs.

Having so many vocalists allows the group to create multi-layered vocal harmonies, such as in the song “Debess kalējs” (folk song with music by Linda Zonne). The distinctive vocal arrangements, in addition to the instrumental accompaniment, provide for a vivid interpretation of this folk song with its metaphorical images of a blacksmith forging in the sky and the coal falling into the Daugava River.

The group takes a cue from their name and applies much of the hum of nature to the song “Dienvidus” (folk song with music by Linda Zonne), which is appropriate, as the song makes mention of the playing of the bees and sun in a clearing. The song, where the vocal is passed between the group members, is about a woman’s hard work on a farm – but though the work is hard, she finds happiness that she can provide an entire barn full of grain as a result.

Pastoral themes continue in the song “Pļavas dziesma” (folk song with music by Solveiga Kaļva), which provides a particularly striking and colorful picture of a walk in a field – silver droplets, green grass, golden dew, with the band members also providing bird sounds to complete the picture.

As many of the members of the group are female, it is then no surprise that often the songs are from a woman’s perspective, or are simply about women, such as “Jūras meitas” (folk song with music by Solveiga Kaļva), a song about how enjoyable life by the sea is, and how the daughters of the sea weave shawls on the waves.

Composer Valts Pūce, who often has used folklore elements in his works (particularly on albums like the collection of choir songs Gadalaiku dziesmas and his Georgian-Latvian folk music synthesis on the album Es arī) assists on the song “Divi” (folk song with music by Linda Zonne and Valts Pūce) about how the rocks and the water together live for all eternity. The folk song texts emphasize the duality of nature in the water and the rock, and Daba San’s performance highlights this expansive and endless natural interaction.

Colorful and lyrical, vivid and mystical, Vaiņags is a thoroughly engaging musical presentation of the Latvian summer. Daba San continue to present themselves as a mature, creative and imaginative presence in modern Latvian folk music. Even though these folk songs have ancient texts, the group, in their layered and multi-faceted musical arrangements, reveal new insights into the power of nature.

For further information, please visit the Daba San Facebook page.

Guitarist Kaspars Zemītis has for many years been considered one of the premiere guitarists in Latvia. A member of the seminal Latvian jazz pop group Time After Time, Zemītis has also made a name for himself as a solo performer, and has turned more to academic music in recent years.

Not only is Zemītis a performer, but has also branched out as a composer, and one of his recent major compositions – a mass for choir and guitar – was released as part of the album Mana lūgšana – a collection of sacred works released in 2016.

Zemītis, performing guitar on the record, is joined by the Latvian State Choir Latvija, conducted by Māris Sirmais. Zemītis has worked with the choir in the past, performing guitar on the choir’s recording of ‘Ave Regina caelorum’ by composer Gabriel Jackson on the album A Ship with Unfurled Sails in 2013, and now has collaborated with the choir on one of his own compositions.

Zemītis’ ‘Mesa’ (or Mass), the focal point of this collection, is presented in the traditional thematic style of the classic Latin Masses, and it is clear that Zemītis was inspired by the great musical masses of centuries past, as well as his own faith. Overall, it is a very reflective and calm mass, perhaps to suggest a spiritual tranquility and closeness to God.

The mass begins with the brief introduction ‘Zvani’ (bells), with the sound of church bells being made by guitar harmonics, which then moves into the ‘Kyrie eleison’ section, which begins with the bass voices supported by Zemītis’ acoustic guitar. Each voice group then joins in succession, as the voices swell this song of penitence.

The ‘Gloria’ section of the Mass begins with an extended solo guitar performance, which then expands to an energetic song of the glory of God, at once exuberant and reverent. ‘Credo’ is a more restrained performance, with a vocalise in the women’s voices blended with a Gregorian style performance by the male voices.

Soprano Inese Romancāne and mezzo soprano Dace Bite are featured on ‘Agnus Dei’ and their soaring, wordless duet presents a musical contrast to the slower and more deliberate singing of the choir. This then leads into the closing section of the mass – ‘Āmen’, a serene and uplifting conclusion to this work, with the repeated words ‘Allelūja’ and ‘Āmen’, become ever quieter and quieter, making for a peaceful and placid finale.

Besides the Mass, the album also contains a few instrumental works by Zemītis. Zemītis is joined by a string quartet (Ineta Abakuka, Guna Āboltiņa, Agnese Kanniņa-Liepiņa, and Kristiāna Šīrante) for ‘Agnus Dei’, and Zemītis’ guitar seamless blends in with the stringed instruments, and though the work is without words, its spiritual nature shines through.

Zemītis also provides an arrangement of the Latvian Christmas song ‘Kas ir šis bērns’ (sung to the tune of the English folk song ‘Greensleeves’). The song, performed almost entirely without words, features the melody flowing from one vocal group to another, all the while Zemītis’ guitar performance binds all the voices, making for a memorable arrangement of this beloved melody.

Mana lūgšana confirms Kaspars Zemītis’ status as not just one of the most accomplished Latvian guitar players, but also as an accomplished composer. The album is Zemītis’ spiritual journey, and displays his adeptness in working with both choirs and string quartets. His Mass is a particularly accomplished work, melodious and captivating, and the performance is made even more memorable by the powerful and rich voices of the Latvian State Choir Latvija and conductor Māris Sirmais. Mana lūgšana is a powerful and very personal achievement.

For further information, please visit Kaspars Zemītis’ website.