The latest compact disc from the post-folklore group Iļģi, released this month, features 12 songs about weddings, the recording studio UPE has announced.

Titled Ne uz vienu dienu (Not for Just a Day), the album focuses on one of the central rites of Latvian folk tradition. UPE notes that of the three major rites—name-giving or baptism, marriage, and one’s funeral—the wedding is the only one a person experiences consciously. It is not only a happy occasion, but also serious and laden with responsibility.

Guests artists on the album are Rūta Muktupāvela, wife of noted folklorist Valdis Muktupāvels, and Ugandan-American musician Samite.

This is the 10th album by Iļģi. Last year’s Totari, a collection of winter solstice songs, just won an award for best Latvian folk music recording of 2005.

For further information, visit www.upe.lv.

The latest album by folk group Iļģi focuses on music about weddings.