Choir music is an essential element of Latvian music, so it is no surprise that, throughout the last century and a half, hundreds, if not a thousand Latvian composers have composed in the choral music genre. With many distinguished choirs, both amateur and professional, not to mention the regular Song and Dance Celebration events, it could be argued that choral music is the most frequently performed form of music in Latvia’s history.

With so many composers having contributed to this genre, it was perhaps inevitable that the works of some composers have been forgotten or neglected. The Latvian music label Skani, with its regular release of Latvian academic music albums, has spotlighted modern and contemporary Latvian choral works, as well as opuses from earlier times, and the choral recordings most often feature the Latvian Radio Choir. The early 20^th century in Latvia was one of multiple golden ages for Latvian choral music, with names like Jāzeps Vītols, Emīls Dārziņš, and Emilis Melngailis securing their place in Latvian music history with their memorable and timeless works.

One name from that same era that is, undeservedly, mentioned less frequently is Jānis Zālīts (1884–1943). Recognizing that Zālīts made a significant contribution to the development of Latvian choral music, the Latvian Radio choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava endeavored to record all of Zālīts’ songs for choir, and, in 2019, released Jānis Zālīts: kopotas kora dziesmas, a 2 CD collection of 44 recordings – thirty-six songs for mixed choir, seven compositions for men’s choir and one song for women’s choir.

In many ways, Zālīts was very much like his contemporaries, expressing a kind of Latvian national romanticism in his works, displaying a particular skill with textures and layering voices, such as in the dreamy ‘Kad nakts’, with words by Rainis. The undulating ‘Birztaliņa’, with words by Kārlis Jēkabsons, creates in music the swaying of a grove of birch trees.

Though most of the works are choral miniatures, Zālīts did compose a few more expansive works, like ‘Biķeris miroņu salā’, with the poetry of Jānis Poruks, a fantasy about a goblet on the Island of the Dead. Zālīts captures the fantastical elements of this story in the soaring voices of the choir, and the Latvian Radio choir gives a particularly dramatic and ethereal performance of the work.

Many of the songs are imbued with Latvian patriotism and celebrating Latvian heroes, such as the rousing ‘Varoņu dziesma’ and the inspiring ‘Ceļš uz dzimteni’. Zālīts also composed odes to Latvian soldiers, including the heroic ‘Kareivji drošie’ and ‘Kareivju dziesma’, both for men’s choir.

As the goal was to record all of Zālīts’ choral output, the collection also includes a few political works of that era, including more than a few works dedicated to Latvian dictator Kārlis Ulmanis, such as ‘Tautas himna Vadonim’ and ‘Vadoņa suminājums’, which are perhaps more historical curiosities, giving a musical view of a past era. There is also the brief (thirty seconds) ‘Sveiks, Vadon, sveiks!’ which repeats ‘Leader, We Salute You!’ a few times, then ends, and seems like a superfluous inclusion in this collection.

The CD booklet includes an extensive biography of Zālīts in Latvian and English by Elīna Selga, which includes some fascinating notes about the composer, such as how he was regularly rewriting his choir works, and that, in his work as a music critic, he published more than two thousand articles. Still, the booklet contains very little information about the songs; one would have liked to read more about the compositions themselves.

The Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava have not only done a great service to Latvian musicology by making a comprehensive collection of the recordings of Jānis Zālīts, but also shed new light on many rarely heard gems of early 20^th century Latvian choral music. Zālīts proves to be an equal of the better-known names of that era, and this collection will reveal Zālīts’ talents to many new listeners.

For further information, please visit the Skani website.

Jānis Zālīts: kopotas kora dziesmas

Latvian Radio Choir

Skani, LMIC 077, 2019

Track listing:

CD1

1. Anužu himna

2. Apsveikums jubilāram

3. Ādolfam Kaktiņam

4. Biķeris miroņu salā

5. Birztaliņa

6. Ceļš uz dzimteni

7. Cildinām šodien varenos garus

8. Darbadaiņa

9. Dārgās ēnas

10. Dziesma Tautas Vienotājam

11. Jau no bērnu dienām

12. Kad nakts

13. Kā oši šalc

14. Kā sniegi kalnu galotnēs

15. Lai zemei sāpes nav

16. Lieldienu dziesma

17. Lielo pļaujas svētku noslēguma koris

18. Līgo

19. Līgo virkne

20. Pie koklētāja kapa

21. Preses himna

22. Profesoram J. Vītolam

23. Pūšat taures!

24. Rainim un Aspazijai

CD 2

1. Sirds tik grūta (1915 edition)

2. Sirds tik grūta (1917 edition)

3. Tautas himna Vadonim

4. Tā vēsma

5. Tev šie lauki

6. Tevi sveicam

7. Vadoņa suminājums

8. Varoņu dziesma

9. Vasara

10. Vasaras nakts

11. Vienības dziesma

12. Kārsēju, vērpēju un audēju dziesma

13. Kareivji drošie

14. Kareivju dziesma

15. Katordznieku dziesma

16. Kārlim Skalbem

17. Pūšat, vēji!

18. Rīta sveiciens

19. Varoņa sirds

20. Sveiks, Vadon, sveiks!

The Latvian ethno-pop ensemble Tautumeitas, who provide modern arrangements and presentations of Latvian folk songs, all the while singing in a traditional Latvian style, have quickly become one of the most popular groups in Latvia. With their distinctive and powerful singing and harmonies, and songs focusing on the mystical and feminine elements of Latvian folk songs and folklore, the six women of Tautumeitas seamlessly meld modern and traditional elements.

Still, even with all the modern elements and sounds, the foundation for the group’s music are ancient Latvian folk songs, and, on their 2020 release Dziesmas no Aulejas, the ensemble chose to present Latgalian folk songs in a fully traditional manner, eschewing all modern elements, and even instruments – all the songs feature only vocals.

The idea for this project came from group leader, Asnate Rancāne. Rancāne was performing research as part of her bachelor’s thesis, “Stylistics of Seasonal Bolsi from Auleja”, where she studied the archaic singing style known as bolsi that is from the small village of Auleja in Latgale, in the eastern part of Latvia. The word bolsi (from the Latgalian, the corresponding Latvian word would be balsis), means not just ‘voices’, but also indicates a certain type of song. For example, songs about work are called tolkas bolss, or mowing hay – sīna bolss, among many others.

These songs have been sung in Auleja for many years, and there is a women’s ensemble – Aulejas sievas – that was founded in 1940, and three generations of singers have been members of the group and who kept these songs and this particular singing style alive. Marija Vasiļevska, a long time member of the group, was extensively interviewed by Rancāne for her thesis.

The bolsi songs are also related to different seasons – the celebration of the spring season is heard in ‘Pavasars / Pavasara bolss’, a joyous ode to the rebirth and growth in the spring, as well as the work that begins in the spring. The soaring voices of Tautumeitas brings a particular vitality and energy to this performance of the song. Midsummer is heralded in ‘Lobs vokorsi, Juoņa tāvs / Juoņu laika bolss’, a song about the approaching Jāņi celebration.

Dziesmas no Aulejas also allows listeners to hear songs on other Tautumeitas albums in their ‘original’ form, such as the complex, almost percussive rhythms of ‘Aiz azara’, which is just as powerful with just vocals, as it was with instrumentation, as recorded on their debut album. ‘Dīzgon borgais rudiņs nuoca’, a song about the approaching autumn and winter, was the foundation for the song ‘Aulejas klezmers’, on their album recorded with drum and bagpipe ensemble Auļi, which was a more rapid, almost frantic, version of this song.

The songs have somber moments, such as the reflective ‘Ūguos guoju, ūdzeņuosi / Ūgu bolss’, but there are moments of levity, such as the ode to a drunkard, ‘Brosnej, puika, tū dzeršonu!’

The CD booklet, entirely in English, provides fascinating details about Rancāne’s research and the style of the Auleja bolsis, as well as the history of the Aulejas sievas ensemble. There are notes about the importance of ornamentation in the singing style, as well as how the singers add extra vowels to change single syllable words to two syllable words. There are several historical photographs, and stories about the folklore expeditions to the area to make a record of these songs. Still, one would have liked more information about the songs themselves – if not the lyrics (and translation), then a few words on what the song is about (listeners without knowledge of Latvian or Latgalian will likely not understand what the songs are about).

Dziesmas no Aulejas, even though it just contains vocal performances, confirms the strength of the voices of the singers of Tautumeitas. These authentic interpretations of songs from the village of Auleja reveal the power and richness of the bolss singing tradition, one that has been kept alive by generations of women from Auleja, and are now renewed again by the women of Tautumeitas.

For further information, please visit the Tautumeitas website.\

Dziesmas no Aulejas

Tautumeitas

SKU TM CD 001, 2020

Track listing:

1. Anņeite
2. Dīzgon borgais rudiņs nuoca
3. Ar gūdeni dzīdit, meitys!
4. Pavasars / Pavasara bolss
5. Ūguos guoju, ūdzeņuosi / Ūgu bolss
6. Tymsā mani tautys vede
7. Kur, Jumeiti tu gulieji? / Juma bolss
8. Lobs vokorsi, Juoņa tāvs / Juoņu laika bolss
9. Klusit bārni vuornis krāc
10. Kam, māmeņa, maņ auklēji?
11. Ūsi, ūsi, kod lopuosi? / Lopu bolss
12. Ūzals, ūzals, bārzsi, bārzsi
13. Aiz azara
14. As bej’ lela dzīduotuoja / Tolkas bolss
15. Brosnej, puika, tū dzeršonu!
16. Zaļā suodiņā

Kokle prodigy Laima Jansone has long been at the forefront of popularizing the ancient stringed Latvian instrument, and has performed on multiple albums, including her own solo releases. DJ Monsta (Uldis Cīrulis) is also a well-known name in Latvian folk circles, as he has brought his DJing talent and skill with technology together with many folk performers, such as folk singer Biruta Ozoliņa.

Jansone and Monsta have joined together in the group ZeMe, which fuses the traditional sounds of the kokle with modern sounds and technologies, and the ensemble released their first album – Visuma Vizošā Tumsa (or The Glimmering Universe) in 2019. The mostly instrumental album collects ten songs that include elements of Latvian folk songs and folklore, presenting these melodies in new arrangements that combine both traditional and modern elements and sounds.

The album begins, appropriately, with the song ‘Saullēkts’ (or ‘Sunrise’), which is based on the sad but hopeful Latvian folk song ‘Gauži raud saulīte’. Jansone’s kokle presents this beautiful melody, while DJ Monsta’s sound effects and electronic sounds give the performance an immersive feel, creating an authentic early morning atmosphere. The duo is also joined by contrabassist Toms Poišs, who provides another facet to the layered textures of the ensemble’s sound. Poišs is featured again on the atmospheric ‘Miglas vāli’, where his contrabass has a kind of dialogue with Jansone’s kokle, to create a flowing and engrossing picture of mist rolling across a field.

The group also uses archival recordings as part of their arrangements, and this is used to great effect on the energetic ‘Bumbulēt!’, which features a recording of folk singer Karlīne Puraviņa made in 1968. The joyful and playful combination of the recording with the modern sounds of DJ Monsta creates a memorable meld of various eras.

Much of the album is dreamy and has elements of the mystical, such as ‘Es gulu, gulu’ which again finds inspiration in a sad but beautiful folk song about a girl who dreams her beloved is departing. DJ Monsta adds percussive effects, perhaps to imply the sound of a horse’s hooves, while Jansone’s ethereal kokle performance adds a mysterious element to this performance.

Themes of light and darkness reoccur throughout the album, such as on the cosmic ‘Visuma vizošā tumsa’, which portrays the billions of glimmering stars that are visible in the otherwise dark universe. DJ Monsta’s sound effects generate the sense of a journey throughout the cosmos, while Jansone’s shimmering kokle sounds are like tiny points of light, representing the stars. Similar themes are presented in the final song on the album, ‘Saules grieži (aka Sidrabiņa lietiņš lija)’, based on a folk song about the winter solstice. The pulsating rhythm provided by both Monsta and Jansone creates an effective portrayal of the shortest day of the year.

The electronic sounds of DJ Monsta and the traditional sounds of the kokle performed by Laima Jansone unite to make a layered, textured sound on ZeMe’s debut album Visuma Vizošā Tumsa. With both modern and ancient elements, the performances, inspired by Latvian folk songs and themes both cosmic and universal, provide for an absorbing listen, revealing how the kokle and Latvian folk songs can seamlessly be joined with modern sounds.

For further information, please visit the ZeMe website and the ZeMe Facebook page.

Visuma Vizošā Tumsa

ZeMe

Lauska CD088, 2019

Track listing:

1. Saullēkts / Sunrise
2. Bumbulēt!
3. Miglas vāli / The Rolling Mist
4. Veļu dziesma / The Song of the Ancestors
5. Es gulu, gulu / I Saw in My Dream…
6. Ūsiņš
7. Koku čuksti /The Whispers of the Trees
8. Visuma vizošā tumsa / The Glimmering Universe
9. Urbānās dzīres / Urban Feast
10. Saules grieži (aka Sidrabiņa lietiņš lija) / Solstice (aka Silver Rain)