Author: Egils Kaljo

Compelling collection of songs on Helēna’s new album

Egils Kaljo | 

Singer songwriter Helēna Kozlova – or just simply Helēna – has released a new album, a full seventeen years after her last solo album (1999’s Stāsti). Recorded over the course of more than a dozen years, the album Tāluma tuvumā, her third solo album, was released in 2016.

Helēna, who sings, plays piano, guitar and flute, as well as being a lyricist, began performing with the indie gothic group Skumji Akmeņi in the mid-1990s, and later in the group Levīti in the early 2000s. Helēna also provided the track ‘Viens vienīgs vārds’ to the 2016 collection of songs Pretējības with lyrics by Latvian poet Aspazija.

Helēna’s piano performance begins the album, with the wistful instrumental ‘Valsis’. The melancholy and haunting waltz rather suddenly morphs into the second track ‘Trauksme’ – the instrumental continues, but in a much faster tempo, with an added dramatic tension.

Vocals and guitar then appear in the subsequent track ‘Ilgu vējš’. Helēna’s rich alto voice imbues this song of sadness and longing with a forlorn dreaminess, and the combination of just the guitar and wind effects adds to the sense of solitude presented in the song.

Helēna uses an almost childlike voice for the English language ‘Shine’, which corresponds with the perhaps intentionally childlike lyrics like ‘you make a desert in my mind’. Combined with a King Crimson-like guitar echo effect, the song is at once tender and delicate.

Though she writes most of the lyrics, for the track ‘Šūpuļdziesma’, Helēna uses the lyrics of Latvian poet Kārlis Skalbe. Skalbe’s mystical lyrics are given an equally mysterious musical accompaniment, and this lullaby, featuring guitarist Einārs Kvilis, makes for a particularly eerie listening experience.

Though much of the music on the album is tinged with melancholy and sadness, the song ‘Serafafa verandā’ is one of the cheerier and more energetic songs, but with its pastoral feel still blends in well with the other tracks on the album.

Helēna’s vocals may remind some listeners of Marta Kreituse of the band Zāle – perhaps then it is no surprise that Helēna recently shared a bill with Zāle, as both share a similar low key yet picturesque musical style.

The album closes with ‘Impro’ which, as its title suggests, is an improvisation. However, the track sounds more like various sound effects spliced together – it is mildly interesting, but, at nearly six minutes, begins to drag a bit. One wishes the artist had formed an actual song out of these clips, rather than try to create her own ‘Revolution 9’.

At times fragile and brittle, other times powerful and dramatic, Tāluma tuvumā is a long awaited return by Helēna Kozlova. Her hypnotic vocals and lyrics leave an impression on the listener, through this series of songs of quiet intensity. Though it took more than a decade to record and release, the album is a unique and notable achievement, and with her restrained and refined style, Helēna has created a compelling collection of songs.

Helena - taluma tuvuma 001

 

    Helēna

    Tālumā tuvumā
    NabaMusic/Melo Records, 2016

    Track listing:

    1. Valsis
    2. Trauksme
    3. Ilgu vējš
    4. Ieaijā
    5. Tās būs tās ilgas
    6. Austo kalnu miglā
    7. Shine
    8. Šūpuļdziesma
    9. Serafafa veranda
    10. Man patīk
    11. Impro

     

    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.

Collector’s coin released – celebrating Rozentāls’ 150th birthday

Egils Kaljo | 

The Bank of Latvia has released a new collector’s coin to celebrate the 150th birthday of Latvian painter Jānis Rozentāls.

According to the Bank of Latvia website, Jānis Rozentāls (1866 – 1916) was “one of the most important shapers of national art” in Latvia, and “Rozentāls became the most versatile artist of the turn of the 20th century, a popular and skillful portrait painter, a modern and enthusiastic proponent of the new aesthetic principles, whose creative activities influenced the development of painting, graphic and book art, theory and criticism of art.”

The coin depicts Rozentāls’ painting “Princese ar pērtiķi” (The Princess and the Monkey) from 1913, and the contemporary interpretation of the painting is “as an allegory for an artist’s dependence on society or art, which like a dominating mistress is playing with her servant.”

The silver proof quality coin has a mintage of 7000 and has a face value of 5 euro. The coin was struck by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (The Netherlands), using a graphic design by Sandra Krastiņā and plaster model by Jānis Strupulis.

A video about the coin (in Latvian with English subtitles) can be viewed here.

For further information, please visit the Bank of Latvia’s Collector’s Coin page.

 

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.

Duo Ilze and Aigars Reinis’ perform on Riga Cathedral organ

Egils Kaljo | 

The Latvian national record label Skani has already released a number of classical music CDs that have highlighted many talented Latvian performers and composers, and, being a state funded label, have the artistic freedom to present a broad range of artists. Alongside albums by well-known artists like Egils Siliņš and the Latvian Radio Choir, the label can also present recordings by artists that are, comparatively less well-known, but no less talented or significant.

A noteworthy recent release from Skani is Rīgas Doms. Ērģeles diviem (or Organ Duo at Riga Cathedral) which features the organ duo of Ilze Reine and Aigars Reinis performing the organ of the Riga Cathedral. Dating from 1883/84, the organ is not only one of the largest, but also one of the most significant organs in Europe, and has inspired listeners and performers for many generations.

Organ performance, which involves not just hands but feet as well, is challenging, and two playing the same organ is certainly complex, but Reine and Reinis, who have been performing together since 2009, offer a resonant and diverse collection of performances of works from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries by both Latvian and European composers.

British composer John Rutter, though perhaps best known for his choral works, composed ‘Variations on an Easter Theme’ which premiered in 1983. The work, which is based on the 15th century song ‘O filii et Filiae’, presents seven variations of the theme, incorporating modern elements and interpretations. The Renaissance era song is presented in various aspects, and each variation is distinct, and uses the full spectrum of organ sounds. Throughout the varied performances, Reine and Reinis accent both the individuality of each variation, as well as the core theme, blending the ancient and the modern in a distinctive performance.

‘Bērnības ainava’ (Landscape of Childhood), is a work by Latvian composer Imants Zemzaris, and, as its title would indicate, is a slightly sentimental, quiet work. Though melodic and peaceful, there are still undertones of sadness. Near the end there is an almost imperceptible fragment from the melody of the children’s game ‘Kas dārzā’. Though the work is brief (less than five minutes in length), it still captures much of the essence of childhood.

‘Fugue and Fantasy’ by Latvian composer Ilona Breģe was written specifically for the organ duo of Ilze Reine and Aigars Reinis, and to be played on the Riga Cathedral organ, as a showcase for the broad sonic possibilities of the instrument. From thundering basses to quiet, bell-like sounds, the composition covers a range of emotions and feelings, and Reine and Reinis adeptly bring forth all the nuances of this multi-faceted work.

The best known work on this collection is Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic poem Vitava (also known by its German name – ‘The Moldau’). Though originally a work for symphonic orchestra, Smetana also created a version for two pianos, and this is the basis for this arrangement. This performance retains the mystical dreamy quality of the original work, and even presents new aspects. In fact, the sounds of the keys being played may even remind the listener of a river lapping against its banks. The performance also shows how one organ can still retain many of the different qualities and timbres of a symphony orchestra. The majestic performance of Reine and Reinis not only shows the skill of the organists themselves, but the vast possibilities of the Riga Cathedral organ.

The CD booklet has extensive notes in Latvian and English on the performers, composers, works, and even the Riga Cathedral Organ (mentioning, among other things, that the organ has 124 registers, 4 manuals, and 6718 pipes).

Rīgas Doms. Ērģeles diviem, besides being a compelling collection of organ works, also serves as yet another example of why the Riga Cathedral organ is one of the most famous organs in the world. The accomplished organ duo of Ilze Reine and Aigars Reinis display the broad range of sounds and timbres of the organ on this varied collection, another excellent release from the Skani record label.

For further information, please visit the Skani website.

Rīgas Doms. Ērģeles diviem.

Ilze Reine un Aigars Reinis
Skani, LMIC/SKANI 047, 2016

Track listing:

  1. John Rutter – Variations on an Easter Theme
    Gustav Merkel – Sonata op. 30 d-moll
  2. Allegro moderato
  3. Adagio
  4. Allegro con fuoco
  5. Imants Zemzaris – Bērnības ainava
  6. Ilona Breģe – Fugue and Fantasy C-dur
  7. Bedřich Smetana – Symphonic Poem Vitava
  8. Aivars Kalējs – Toccata C-dur

 

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.