Latvians are scattered throughout the world for various reasons. One of the most remote parts is Siberia. The first Latvians ended up in Siberia in the middle of the 19th century as deportees, later many emigrated to the region hoping to start a new life with the promise of cheap or even free land. In the 1940s and 1950s the biggest influx was those who were deported to the far east by the Soviets. Consequently, Latvians can be found in villages and towns all over Siberia.

Assimilation into the local Russian and other national communities was inevitable. A large proportion of descendants of the original Latvians and Latgalians do not speak their native language or remember traditions, although there have been a few very resilient villages where the culture has survived well into the second and third generations. It is their story that is presented in the audiovisual collection Sibīrijas Latviešu dziesmas.

Since 1975 individual enthusiasts from Latvia have been keen to document for future generations the culture and language of these stalwarts who, defying all odds, still not only speak the language of their forefathers, but also have a mental repertoire of their cultural heritage.

Sibīrijas Latviešu dziesmas is the result of many decades of meticulous work, criss-crossing the Siberian landscape during expeditions to these far-away villages. The beauty of this double-disc edition is the audio and visual elements. Not only can you listen to the compact disc and follow the words of the songs in the liner notes, you can also read the translation in either English or Russian. But the best way of capturing the mood of the Siberian villages is the DVD, as the audio format alone can’t conjure up the image of the singers in their home setting.

The audio tracks—52 in total—show the diversity of songs in Siberia. Some are exact replicas of the folksongs or popular songs (ziņģes) still heard in Latvia today, others have variations on the text and melody. Some, it seems, have “frozen in time” and are songs that were sung in Latvia more than 100 years ago and have since changed their form. Other songs are a merging of traditional Latvian and local Russian songs. Others still have been “brought over” to Siberia during the past decades, as teachers from Latvia who have come to these villages have passed on their cultural knowledge.

The liner notes are particularly informative as they give a descriptive overview of the villages, the different ways each was settled and their fate. It’s also interesting to learn from the liner notes about the different people who have been involved in the expeditions to Siberia through the years and the films and books that have been made about the region. An outline of contact with Latvians from Latvia (or lack of it because of Joseph Stalin’s and later repressions during the Soviet era, where virtually all contact was cut off) over the years is also valuable, sketching in the timeline as well as the ebb and flow of Siberian Latvian village life.

Many of the women singing on the DVD and CD have since passed away, so we are lucky to be able to hear the legacy of this generation before it fades and becomes a distant memory. For various reasons, the DVD leaves one with an uncanny feeling. Here we have modern technology that has captured, almost intruded upon, and documented these elderly farming folk, almost in the manner of a Discovery Channel film, but the object of this documentary is Latvians. The oddest feeling comes over you when you see these women, looking pretty much like any scarfwearing, toothless peasant women from a poor farming community somewhere in Russia. But when you listen closely to the text, you realise that you actually recognise the song! The melody may be different and the singers’ deep, monotonous voices may make it slightly more difficult to recognise, but once you get it, a feeling of sisterhood overwhelms you. Our folksongs are one of our main unifying links—whether we sing them in the heat of the Australian sun, or in the Midwest of the United States, in busy smog-filled Shanghai, in the fields of Zemgale or in these remote Siberian villages.

These are all our people, scattered the world over. This realisation overwhelms because with it comes the duty to not let these songs fade. These songs, and the traditions that go with them, accompany a world-view. If this world-view is forgotten, we will merely become one of the many cultures in the world that have been and gone over the centuries.

So wherever we may be, let’s immortalize these songs by documenting them. But not only that: Let’s teach them to the next generation, and let’s not forget to sing them ourselves and learn new ones every year, so that by the end of our lives we have a mental repertoire like these old folk, the Latvians in Siberia.

Besides leading the prestigious professional choir Latvija, the visionary Māris Sirmais also directs Kamēr…, generally considered to be the best amateur youth choir in Latvia. The choir’s accomplishments are stunning and include victories in several international competitions.

Founded in 1990, Kamēr… has worked directly with many distinguished composers and has released several compact discs.

A few years ago Kamēr… embarked on one of the most ambitious efforts in Latvian choir music history: the World Sun Songs project. The project was inspired by former President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, herself a researcher of Latvian folk songs and traditions, who mentioned to conductor Sirmais the great number of folk songs that reference the sun. That led to the idea of performing and recording a series of choir works about the sun by composers from around the world.

Seventeen composers from 16 different countries (from the United States to Uzbekistan, from South Africa to Japan) responded to the invitation, and the results were performed and released in 2008 on the two-disc World Sun Songs. 

To assemble, learn and perform 17 brand new works is a feat that few other choirs would be able to accomplish. To be sure, this collection is not for the faint of heart. This is modern choir music, which can often be a challenge to sing, not to mention listen to. But for those who endeavor to make the 95-minute journey, the reward is substantial, as you have a collection of choir music by some of the best international composers.

Latvia is the only country represented by two different works, which book-end the collection. “Grezna saule debesīs” by Raimonds Pauls (A Resplendent Sun in the Sky, text by Inese Zandere) begins the set, while the 10-minute opus “Piedzimšana” (Birth) by Pēteris Vasks (text also by Zandere) closes it out.

Pauls’ lyricism and excellent sense of melody shine through the brief (less than two minutes) “Grezna saule debesīs.” Not too surprisingly, given his background as a composer of popular music, the song is the most accessible on this collection.

That an amateur choir was able to commission a work by Vasks is notable, considering the fact that the composer is not very prolific.  True to Vasks’ style, “Piedzimšana” is ominous yet beautiful, with thundering drums performed by Rihards Zaļupe.

Uzbekistan’s Polina Medyulyanova provides the wordless vocal work “Ofiyat,” based upon “Yor-yor,” an Uzbek wedding song. The word ofiyat has multiple meanings, including “cleansing from sin,” “welfare” and “luck.” The work begins with pulsating melodies, featuring the women’s voices, that gradually expand to a crescendo with the men’s voices, then alternating lyrical melodies between the men’s and women’s voices.

Perhaps one of the most difficult works on the album is “Comme un arbuste” (Like a Tree) by Norwegian composer Bjorn Andor Drage, which begins with barely perceptible melodies and rhythms, which transform into a sombre middle, then an anxious and tense finale.

One of my favorites on this collection is “Imet loomas päikesele” (Creating a Miracle for the Sun) by Estonian composer Urmas Sisask. Influenced by astronomy, Sisask’s work combines both modern sounds with traditional Estonian melodies, to weave together a particularly beautiful musical tapestry.

Among other composers showcased on World Sun Songs are Giya Kancheli, John Taverner and John Luther Adams.

The packaging of the CDs contains copious liner notes, in English and in Latvian, both on the project itself as well as write-ups on each composer and the works they composed.

World Sun Songs is an extremely impressive collection not just of songs, but of performances by the amateur choir. Lyrical, melodic and captivating, these songs celebrating the sun from many different international perspectives are a worthy addition to the long list of the choir’s accomplishments.