Latvian Radio Choir’s “Daba un dvēsele” – works from golden era of choir music

Egils Kaljo | 

The Latvian Radio Choir has long been acknowledged as not just one of the most talented choirs in Latvia, but also one of the most versatile. Through their diverse repertoire, they have established themselves as a truly singular choir, one that can expertly perform even the most complex and challenging of works. Though their focus is mainly on the modern, and often experimental repertoire, the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Kaspars Putniņš, do still occasionally delve into the classic repertoire.

In 2013, the choir released the CD Diena aust, a collection of performances of choir works from the ‘golden era’ of choir music (the first half of the 20th century), and have now followed that up with 2017’s Daba un dvēsele, a similar collection of Latvian choir classics, released by the Latvian national record label Skani as part of their Latvian Centennial series.

Perhaps the most popular choir music composer of that era was Emīls Dārziņš, whose choir compositions remain beloved and frequently performed, as well as being a central part of the Song Festival repertoire, more than a century later. Though his life was tragically cut short, in a brief period of time Dārziņš composed a number of wondrous works. On this set, the Latvian Radio Choir provides memorable renditions of the mystical ‘Senatne’, the tender and sentimental ‘Mēness starus stīgo’ and the anthemic ‘Lauztās priedes’.

Composer Emilis Melngailis took much inspiration from Latvian folklore, and this can be heard in the four part ‘Latvian Requiem’, with texts by Vilis Plūdonis and Rainis. This somber, weighty work traces the final journey, through glades of ferns, to one’s final resting place. The cycle concludes with the fateful, ‘Pastarā diena’, a tragic and even violent musical setting of the End of Days. The Latvian Radio Choir create an absorbing and, at times, unsettling interpretation of this final journey.

The supernatural is on display in Jānis Zālītis’ ‘Biķeris miroņu salā’, a mystical tale of a goblet on the Island of the Dead that gathers anguished souls. The lyrical and delicate ‘Mežā nakts ir ienākusi’, with the expressive poetry of Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš, is Jēkabs Graubiņš contribution, and here the Radio Choir show their exceptional ability to bring forth all the tiniest nuances of a song to make for a vivid portrayal of night in a forest.

The bulk of the songs on Daba un dvēsele are by composer Jāzeps Vītols, whose monumental contribution not just to Latvian choir music, but Latvian music in general, cannot be understated. For his time, he was a prolific innovator in choir music, be in dainty miniatures like ‘Mēnestiņš meloja’ or the expansive Bible scene of ‘Dāvids Zaula priekšā’. Vītols also was inspired by Latvian folklore and legends, and many of his songs put music to fables, like ‘Rūķīši un Mežavecis’. His sweeping lyricism, captured richly by the singing of the choir, can be heard on songs like ‘Diena beidzas’ and ‘Saules svētki’.

The CD booklet includes extensive notes on the composers and the compositions in both Latvian and English, as well as English translations of all the lyrics.

In the CD booklet, conductor Putniņš compares the recording of these songs to writing a love letter – which is an appropriate metaphor, considering that many of these songs are now an inseparable part of the Latvian cultural canon, and have inspired many a musician throughout the years. Conductor Kaspars Putniņš and the Latvian Radio Choir have clearly imbued all of these performances with love and respect, and, as a result, Daba un dvēsele is an exceptional and inspiring collection.

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

Daba un dvēsele

Latvian Radio Choir

Skani, SKANI054, 2017

Track listing:

  1. Emīls Dārziņš – Senatne
  2. Emīls Dārziņš – Mēness starus stīgo
  3. Emīls Dārziņš – Lauztās priedes
  4. Emilis Melngailis – Daba un dvēsele
  5. Emilis Melngailis – Latviešu rekviēms – Pamazām brauciet
  6. Emilis Melngailis – Latviešu rekviēms – Pamazām, palēnām
  7. Emilis Melngailis – Latviešu rekviēms – Saule riet
  8. Emilis Melngailis – Latviešu rekviēms – Pastarā diena
  9. Jānis Zālītis – Biķeris miroņu salā
  10. Jēkabs Graubiņš – Mežā nakts ir ienākusi
  11. Jāzeps Vītols – Diena beidzas
  12. Jāzeps Vītols – Mēnestiņš meloja
  13. Jāzeps Vītols – Dūkņu sils
  14. Jāzeps Vītols – Rūķīši un Mežavecis
  15. Jāzeps Vītols – Karalis un bērzlapīte
  16. Jāzeps Vītols – Dāvids Zaula priekšā
  17. Jāzeps Vītols – Saules svētki

 

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.

ALA izceļ Baltijas valstu un ASV prezidentu tikšanās simbolisko nozīmi

Raits Eglītis | 

Amerikas latviešu apvienība (ALA) apsveic Latvijas valsts prezidentu Raimondu Vējoni un Latvijas valdības delegāciju ar sekmīgo dalību ASV un Baltijas valstu samita norisē Vašingtonā, D.C. šī gada 3. aprīlī.
“Baltijas valstu vadītāju uzņemšana Baltajā namā Baltijas valstu neatkarības pasludināšanas simtgadē ir spēcīgs un simbolisks žests, kas apliecina Baltijas valstu un ASV vēsturiskās saites, ciešo sadarbību šodien un sadarbības potenciālu nākotnē gan aizsardzības, gan ekonomiskās sadarbības jomā,” tikšanās rezultātus vērtē ALA priekšsēdis Pēteris Blumbergs. Kā pozitīvu zīmi viņš saredz, ka ASV prezidents Donalds Tramps ir pamanījis Baltijas valstu ieguldījumu NATO kolektīvā drošībā un aizsardzībā un ka samita laikā ASV apliecināja savu gatavību turpināt savu militāro klātbūtni Baltijas reģionā un nodrošināt atbalstu Latvijas, Lietuvas un Igaunijas aizsardzībai. Kā konkrēts žests šajā jomā ir Baltijas nama otrdien izplatītais paziņojums par 170 miljonu ASV dolāru atvēlēšanu Baltijas valstu aizsardzības stiprināšanai, no kuriem gandrīz 100 miljoni ASV dolāru (81,4 miljoni eiro) ir paredzēti lielkalibra munīcijas iepirkumiem un vairāk nekā 70 miljoni (57 miljoni eiro) apmācību un ekipējuma programmām.
Ne mazāk svarīgs ir ASV dotais signāls un novērtējums par sadarbības potenciālu ekonomiskās sadarbības jomā. “Kā Amerikas latvietis un Amerikas latviešu apvienības priekšsēdis es lepojos, ka Latvijas prezidents Raimonds Vējonis tika uzņemts Baltajā namā un ka Latvija sevi nodemonstrēja pozitīvā veidā un saņēma komplimentus no ASV prezidenta par tās sasniegumiem ekonomikas un aizsardzības jomā,” sacīja ALAs priekšsēdis P. Blumbergs. “Mēs arī priecājamies, ka ASV prezidents atzina Baltijas valstis par labu ieguldījumu vietu, bet vienlaikus ceram, ka Latvija turpinās veikt nepieciešamos mājas darbus Latvijas investīciju vides uzlabošanas jomā,” uzsvēra P. Blumbergs, norādot uz nepieciešamajiem uzlabojumiem korupcijas apkarošanas, naudas atmazgāšanas jomā un tiesu sistēmas darbā.
3. aprīlī ALAs priekšsēdim P. Blumbergam, ģenerālsekretāram Raitam Eglītim un programmu koordinatorei Marisai Gudrajai bija iespēja tikties ar Latvijas Valsts prezidentu Raimondu Vējoni Vašingtonā notikušā US-Baltic Economic Summit ietvaros. Tāpat ALAs vadība 3. aprīlī tikās uz atsevišķu sarunu ar Latvijas Ārlietu ministrijas, Latvijas Investīciju un attīstības aģentūras, Latvijas tirdzniecības palātas Amerikā (Latvian American Chamber of Commerce), kā arī Amerikas tirdzniecības palātas Latvijā pārstāvjiem, pārrunājot iespējas veicināt ekonomisko sadarbību starp Latviju un ASV. Jāatgādina, ka ar ALA atbalstu pagājušā gada oktobrī Čikāgā norisinājās pirmais, līdz šim lielākais Latvijas un ASV ekonomiskai sadarbībai veltīts pasākums “Spotlight Latvia”, kas pulcēja gandrīz 200 Latvijas un ASV uzņēmumu vadītāju un ekonomiskā sadarbībā ieinteresētas personas. Šogad 28. un 29. jūnijā Valmierā notiks Pasaules latviešu ekonomikas un inovāciju forums, kurā plānots apspriest tālākās sadarbības iespējas ekonomikas jomā.

Amerikas latviešu apvienība (ALA) ir centrālā organizācija, kas pārstāv un vieno ap 90 000 latviešu visā Amerikā. ALA ar vairāk nekā 140 dažādām latviešu organizācijām (biedrības, baznīcas un kultūras organizācijas) un gandrīz 5000 biedriem no visām pavalstīm ir lielākā latviešu organizācija ārpus Latvijas.

Labvēlīgais tips release new album, filled with their usual good humour

Egils Kaljo | 

Latvian satirical and irreverent group Labvēlīgais tips, seven years after their last album Kurvis (or ‘Basket’), returned in 2017 with the follow up, appropriately titled Kaste (or ‘Box’).

Kaste, their eleventh studio album, collects fourteen songs in the group’s inimitable style, again finding inspiration in topics that at first may seem mundane and ordinary, but, upon a closer look, they still find the comic elements in these everyday occurrences and situations.

The ensemble continues to use a veritable orchestra of instruments – singer Andris Freidenfelds is joined by keyboardist Normunds Jakušonoks, guitarist Ģirts Lūsis, Kaspars Tīmanis on trombone, Oskars Ozoliņš on trumpet, guitarist Artūrs Kutepovs, bass guitarist Pēteris Liepiņš, keyboardist Haralds Stenclavs and drummer Ainis Zavackis.

Labvēlīgais tips still display as much energy as when they started out, almost a quarter century ago, even with their seemingly commonplace topics, such as receiving lots of boxes in the mail in the song ‘Kaste’, or the contradictory need to be both brutal and romantic when wooing a woman in the song ‘Brutāls un romantisks’, or love driving one to madness in ‘Du bist spazieren’.

Still, when listening to these songs, there is a vague sense of having heard them before. For example, Labvēlīgais tips sang about the legendary thriftiness of Latvians in the song “Skopuļa serenāde” on their album Naukšēnu disko, and on Kaste there is a song in a similar vein – ’Pa lēto’. The band also have had songs that were ‘sea shanty’ type songs like ‘Bocmaņa dziesma’ or songs about the sea in general, like ‘Tā man iet’, and on Kaste there is a song in a similar style – ‘Dzimtais krasts’.

Otherwise the lyrics of the songs on Kaste are even more opaque and full of non-sequiturs than usual, making any kind of lyrical analysis impossible. Perhaps that is the point, as the group has always insisted there is no deeper meaning in their songs (though some might say that there is no meaning at all). This is made even clearer on songs like ‘Frāzes’, which is partly just common small talk phrases gathered together to make for a (rather uninteresting) song.

That is not to say there aren’t quite a few bright spots on the album – for example the bouncy ‘Ciemos pie malkas’, the catchy ‘Ciema aristokrāts’, or the low-key and dreamy ‘Bilbao’ are among the stand out tracks on the album.

One might have thought with seven years between studio albums allowing for a bit of creative battery recharging, the group would have come back with a set of stronger songs. Particularly when considering that Kurvis was a late career highlight for them, and perhaps even their best album. However, the songs on Kaste, though containing the right ingredients and their trademark irreverent attitude, are simply not as strong as on other albums. Their most memorable songs have always been the ones about what might otherwise seem uninteresting – like a ride on a slow tram, a bus driving into someone’s garden, or a boisterous crowd at the Song Festival. However, the songs on Kaste rarely make much sense, and aren’t as catchy as their songs in the past. The group’s songs have been a bit of hit and miss throughout the years, particularly in their earlier career, when they were putting out a new album every year.

While Kaste may not reach the memorable heights of previous efforts (which is a bit of a surprise, considering how strong their previous album Kurvis was), the album still has many flashes of what makes Labvēlīgais tips one of the most endearing and enduringly popular of Latvian ensembles. The irreverence, often nonsensical lyrics, and general good humor in their songs have been their trademark, and Kaste does not diverge from that formula at all, though perhaps the songs embrace that formula too closely. Though there are a few occasional glimpses of brilliance, as a whole, Kaste is not one of their stronger efforts.

For further information, please visit the Labvēlīgais tips Facebook page.

Kaste

Labvēlīgais tips

LTIPS 003, 2017

Track listing:

  1. Doriana Greja vecā seja
  2. Kaste
  3. Brutāls un romantisks
  4. Ciemos pie malkas
  5. Frāzes
  6. Ciema aristokrāts
  7. Du bist spazieren
  8. Nianses
  9. Vīrs ar pleznu
  10. Bilbao
  11. Pa lēto
  12. Lai piepildās
  13. Aiza
  14. Dzimtais krasts

 

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.