CanZone, a group that combines elements of rock, Latvian folk, and pop music, was formed in 2009 in the Grīziņkalns area of Rīga. The band name – ‘CanZone’ – is taken from the Italian word ‘canzone’ (or song), and the band has explained that this name was chosen almost at random, while looking through an Italian dictionary. They released their debut album High Time in 2018, and half of the album’s songs are in Latvian, the other half are in English.

The group is made up of Dagnija Millere-Balandīna on vocals, accordionist Rolands Zelčs, Oskars Krūklis on bass, Raivo Millers playing guitar, and drummer Artūrs Slaviks. The group’s sound may remind some listeners of 1970’s hard rock, particularly groups like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and at times even Black Sabbath.

The band puts the accordion front and center throughout its music, starting with the first track on the album – ‘Pirmssalnas dziesmiņa’, a song with lyrics by Māris Čaklais, and the song proves to be an appropriate introduction for the band and its sound. The song begins with Zelčs’ vigorous accordion, which is then joined by Slaviks’ thundering drums and Krūklis’ bass guitar, as well as Millere-Balandīna’s confident, throaty vocals and Millers’ brawny, distorted guitar. In fact, the singer revealed that she was once asked to leave a choir, as her singing style was considered to be too ‘different’.

Millere-Balandīna describes the song ‘Pašrūpe’ as a song about ‘opening one’s mind, and searches for one’s self’, and with its almost military beat, is a rousing, exuberant song about self-discovery and purifying one’s soul. Many of the songs on the album, including this one, have been partially inspired by her studies of philosophy. The song is also supplemented by the harmonies of the choir ‘Anima’.

The singer considers the song “Kliedz bez skaņas” to be the best representative of the whole of High Time. She notes the ‘fragility and power, wildness, emotionality, passion and dramatic nature’ of the song, and indeed Millere-Balandīna’s vocal performance and stylings reveal the tempestuous nature of this song, as well as other songs on the album.

The album concludes with the slightly sinister ‘It’s Time’, and with its deliberate and sharp cello introduction (provided by guest cellist Ieva Rijniece), as well as fuzzy guitars and, with the accordion sounding more like an organ, the song might fit in well with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath era Black Sabbath. It is perhaps appropriate that the album concludes with this song about starting a new beginning.

Combining disparate elements like accordion and rock guitar, and supplemented with the expressive, emotive vocals of Dagnija Millere-Balandīna, CanZone’s debut album High Time is an energetic and engrossing musical achievement. Though brief (the album is only thirty minutes long), in that half our CanZone confirm that they are able to create songs that are brief bursts of energy, but still containing thoughtful lyrics. With its distinctive sound and almost frenetic performances, High Time proves for a memorable debut for CanZone.

For further information, please visit the CanZone Facebook page.

High Time

CanZone

Lauska, CD075, 2018

• Pirmssalnas dziesmiņa
• Pašrūpe
• Kliedz bez skaņas
• Sapņotājs
• Tu
• Fame
• In the sand
• Alright
• Tomorrow
• It’s Time

The Latvian Radio Choir has long been the premiere interpreter of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’ choir music. Their many recordings of Vasks’ songs, both secular (2012’s Plainscapes, 2000’s Māte saule) and sacred (2007’s Pater Noster) have been landmark recordings, not only cementing Vasks’ reputation as one of the premiere living choir music composers, but also the Latvian Radio Choir’s reputation as one of the leading choir music interpreters worldwide.

2017’s Laudate Dominum can now be added to this already venerable discography. The recording is a collection of five sacred works for choir and orchestra, all composed between 2011 and 2016. Joining the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava on the album is the equally talented chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga.

Sinfonietta Rīga also has a long history with Vasks and his music, and have also recorded many noteworthy CDs of Vasks’ orchestral works, such as 2012’s Vox Amoris and 2008’s Viatore. This album is also not their first recording of Vasks’ music with the Latvian Radio Choir, as they also played on the Pater Noster recording.

Much of Vasks’ music, both choral and orchestral, focuses on spiritual and sacred themes, and many of them can be considered prayers, such as ‘Da pacem, Domine’. According to Vasks, this quiet and restrained work was composed to be a ‘cry of desperation for our times’, and the Latvian Radio Choir provide an engrossing and compelling performance of this piece, which is at once both tinged with sadness as well as hope.

‘Mein Herr und mein Gott’ is based on the writings of 15^th century mystic Nicholas of Flüe (also known as Brother Klaus), who, in his later years, had a crisis in spirit and lived as a hermit for twenty years. The prayer, an exhortation to God to bring one closer and remove everything that distances, is deeply personal, and Vasks provides an appropriate musical vision of this prayer, full of piety and veneration.

The choir and orchestra are joined by organist Ilze Reine on ‘Laudate Dominum’, a fifteen minute work where the only sung text are the phrases ‘Laudate Dominum’ and ‘Alleluia’. Alternating between the rich and solemn organ performance and the reverent choir singing, the work slowly builds to a climax before reaching the triumphant, jubilant conclusion with the repeated word ‘Alleluia’.

The record also has two works inspired by the writings of Mother Theresa. The first is simply entitled ‘Prayer’ (subtitled ‘Lord, open our eyes’). Vasks’ works can often be discordant and harsh, and while the music on this collection shies away from that kind of approach, there are elements of this aspect of Vasks’ compositional style in ‘Prayer’. That is quite appropriate, considering that this prayer is to ‘hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed’, and Vasks often clearly and directly articulates suffering and hardship in his music.

The second work inspired by Mother Theresa is ‘The Fruit of Silence’, a work the Latvian Radio Choir has recorded previously (2015’s The Fruit of Silence), that time with choir and piano. This time, the piano (which only played single notes throughout the piece) has been replaced with the orchestra, which adds an additional dimension to the work, particularly at the conclusion of the work, with its placid and harmonious resolution – quite appropriate, considering that the final word in the work is ‘peace’.

Pēteris Vasks’ music is at once personal and universal, and the collaboration between the composer and the Latvian Radio Choir and Sinfonietta Rīga has resulted in the beautifully spiritual Laudate Dominum. This collection of prayers reveals not just the talents of the artists, but also the keen and deep understanding and appreciation of the goals and musical visions of Vasks’ works. Vasks’ music, particularly his sacred music, is often serene and peaceful, with moments both of sorrow and brightness, and the choir and the orchestra, working in tandem under the masterful direction of conductor Sigvards Kļava, have created an excellent document of these works.

For further information, please visit the Latvian Radio Choir website and the Sinfonietta Rīga website.

Laudate Dominum

Latvian Radio Choir and Sinfonietta Riga

Ondine, ODE 1302-2, 2017

Track listing:

1. Da pacem, Domine
2. Mein Herr und mein Gott
3. Laudate Dominum
4. Prayer (Lord, open our eyes)
5. The Fruit of Silence