Traditional
Latvian
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
is often set to traditional poetry called ''
dainas'', featuring pre-Christian themes and legends,
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
vocal styles and
Baltic psaltery
Baltic psaltery is a family of related plucked box zithers, psalteries, historically found in the southeast vicinity of the Baltic Sea and played by the Baltic people, Baltic Finns, Volga Finns and northwestern Russians.
Types
Baltic psalte ...
.
Dainas
Traditional Latvian
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, especially the dance of the
folk songs
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
, date back well over a thousand years. More than 1.2 million texts and 30,000 melodies of folk songs have been identified.
Dainas are very short, usually only one or two stanzas, unrhymed and in a four-footed trochaic metre. Lyrically, dainas concern themselves with native mythology but, in contrast to most similar forms, do not have any legendary
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
es. Stories often revolve around pre-Christian deities like the
sun goddess
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
Saule, the
moon god
A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...
Mēness
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myth ...
and, most notably, the life of people, especially its three most important events - birth, wedding and death (including burial). The first collection of dainas was published between 1894 and 1915 as ''
Latvju Dainas'' by
Krišjānis Barons
Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the dainas" ( lv, "Dainu Tēvs") thanks largely to his systematization of the Latvian folk songs and his labour in preparing their te ...
.
left, Latvian traditional folk song "Div' dūjiņas gaisā skrēja" performed by .">Lizete Iesmiņa-Mihelsone.
''Latvju tautas mūzikas materiāli'', translated in English as the Materials of Latvian Folk Music is the anthology and commentary of Latvian folk. It analysed 5999 items of Latvian ethnography published in 6 editions from 1894 to 1926 by the Latvian musicologist and composer
Andrejs Jurjāns (1856–1922).
''Latvju tautas mūzikas materiāli'' ''Sestā grāmata'' (the sixth book) was published posthumously in Riga, 1926. On page 1 ''latvju komponistu biedrības izdevums'' is inscribed, translated as the Latvian Society of Composers edition.
Instrumentation
Accompaniment to the village songs is played on various traditional instruments, the most important of which is the
kokles
Kokle (; ltg, kūkle) or historically kokles (''kūkles'') is a Latvian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Lithuanian kanklės, Estonian kannel, Finnish ...
, a type of
box zither
The box zither is a class of stringed instrument in the form of a trapezoid-shaped or rectangular, hollow box. The strings of the box zither are either struck with light hammers or plucked. Among the most popular plucked box zithers are the Arab ...
related to the
Lithuanian
kanklės
Kanklės () is a Lithuanian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery, along with the Latvian kokles, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian gusli.
Etymology
Acc ...
and other
Baltic psalteries. In the 1970s, artists like
Jānis Poriķis and
Valdis Muktupāvels led a revival in kokles music, which had only survived in the
Courland and
Lettgallia regions. The Latvian-exile community abroad, especially in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, has also kept kokles traditions alive. In the last hundred years, a new kind of kokles was developed, with many more strings, halftones levelers and other improvements that expand the capacities of the instrument to play not only modal music but, in another point of view, displeased more traditional musicians. This modernized version of the instrument is called "
concert kokles". However, currently is the only remaining master concert kokles maker, although recently he has taken in two
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
s.
Classical music
Choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
traditions are very strong in Latvia. Alongside many professional choirs, there are tens of thousands of Latvians who are part of different amateur choirs. Once every five years the
Latvian National Song and Dance Festival takes place with around 20,000 singers taking part in it.
The 2014
World Choir Games took place in
Riga.
This year (2019) Latvia hosts the inaugura
Riga Jurmala Music Festival a new festival in which world-famous orchestras and conductors perform across four weekends during the summer. The festival takes place at the
Latvian National Opera
The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of Ma ...
, the Great Guild, and the Great and Small Halls of the Dzintari Concert Hall. This year features the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestr ...
, the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...
, the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
and the Russian National Orchestra.
Internationally famous Latvian musicians include conductors
Arvīds Jansons and his son
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
, violinist
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica.
Life and career
Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...
, cellist
Mischa Maisky
Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist.
Biography
Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...
, and soprano
Kristīne Opolais
Kristīne Opolais (born 12 November 1979) is a Latvian operatic soprano.
Biography
Opolais was born in Rēzekne, Latvia, and studied at the Latvian Academy of Music.
Opolais started her career as a member of the chorus with Latvian National Ope ...
.
Popular music
During the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
era,
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
became extremely popular, because it, as well as
folk songs, offered a chance to rebel against the local authorities.
Imants Kalniņš
Imants Kalniņš (born 26 May 1941 in Riga, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian composer, musician and politician. Having studied classical and choral music, he has written seven symphonies, several operas (including the first rock opera in the USSR, ...
was the most important composer of the time, and his songs were extremely popular. He also wrote music for the movie "
Four White Shirts
''Four White Shirts'' ( lv, Četri balti krekli) or ''Breathe Deeply'' (''Elpojiet dziļi'') is a 1967 film directed by Rolands Kalniņš. The film was prevented from being screened by Soviet censors for 20 years following its release. In 2018, ...
", which spoke about the need for freedom and was therefore banned. One of the most important social gatherings of the time was the annual
Imantdiena ('The Day of Imants (Kalniņš)'), forbidden on grounds of interfering with hay-gathering. The tradition continued informally at the composer's house.
The songs of
Imants Kalniņš
Imants Kalniņš (born 26 May 1941 in Riga, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian composer, musician and politician. Having studied classical and choral music, he has written seven symphonies, several operas (including the first rock opera in the USSR, ...
were best known as performed by the group which only played songs by this composer. Most of the members of the group moved on to form another group,
Pērkons ('Thunder') later. Pērkons was a symbol of rebellion. They played fascinating
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
bordering on hard rock music, composed by the band's frontman , using poems mostly written by . Many of those were strongly disapproved by the Soviet authorities, as they implied the ridiculousness of the system. The most famous concert by Pērkons resulted in the destruction of a train compartment by the young people who had attended the concert. This, as well as other events, is portrayed in the movie "
Is It Easy to Be Young?
''Is It Easy to Be Young?'' ( lv, Vai viegli būt jaunam?, russian: Легко ли быть молодым?) is a Soviet-era Latvian documentary film directed by Juris Podnieks. It was filmed in 1986 with dialogue in both Latvian and Russian, a ...
" by
Juris Podnieks Juris Podnieks (December 5, 1950, Riga – June 23, 1992, Kuldīga District) was a Latvian film director and producer.
He graduated from the Soviet VGIK film school in 1975 after which he started working at the Riga Film Studio. He became a ...
. Acts such as
Pērkons certainly played an important role in the lives of the youth of the time and were a serious challenge to the Soviet system.
Nowadays, the pop music sphere is dominated by
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
(e.g.,
Prāta vētra) and
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
.
List of composers and bands in Latvia
See also
*
Latvian musical bows
References
External links
*
Audio clips: Traditional music of Latvia. Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.
* Cronshaw, Andrew. "Singing Revolutions". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp 16–24. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.
{{Music of Europe