Uģis Prauliņš (born 17 June 1957) is a Latvian composer whose choral work ''Missa Rigensis'' (Riga Mass) was recorded by the

Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge 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 s ...

, the

Riga Cathedral Riga Cathedral ( lv, Rīgas Doms; german: Dom zu Riga) formally The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, is the Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Riga, Latvia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Riga. The cathedral is one of the most recognizable ...

Boys Choir, Youth Choir BALSIS and has been performed in several locations around the world, amongst those Canada, France, England.

Background

Uģis Prauliņš was born in Riga and studied at the

Emīls Dārziņš Music School The Emīls Dārziņš Music School (''Emīla Dārziņa mūzikas vidusskola'') is the junior music conservatory in located in the Āgenskalns district of Riga, named after Emīls Dārziņš Emīls Dārziņš (November 3, 1875 – August 31, 19 ...

from 1963–74. Later, he studied conducting and pedagogy at the

Latvian Academy of Music Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, ...

from 1977–82, where he also studied composition with

Jānis Ivanovs Jānis Ivanovs (9 October 1906 in Babri, Preiļi – 27 March 1983 in Riga) was a Soviet and Latvian classical music composer. In 1931, he graduated from the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga. In 1944, he joined the conservatory's faculty, be ...

in 1982–83 and Ģederts Ramans from 1984–89 and piano with Valda Kalnina from 1977–82 and 1984–89. As a keyboardist, he was active as a rock musician in the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

group Salve in the 1970s and in the folk-/progressive-rock group Vecās mājas in the 1980s.

Selected works

His album ''Pagānu gadagrāmata'' (Pagan Yearbook), was recorded with the band Iļģi with guest appearances by Latvian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

musicians in 1998. It contains a seasonal cycle of mostly traditional songs and instrumental pieces with an emphasis on the natural progression of the year. ''Missa Rigensis'' (2002) was written for and first recorded by the Riga Cathedral Boys Choir, conducted by

Mārtiņš Klišāns Mārtiņš is a Latvian language, Latvian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the name Martin (name), Martin. Mārtiņš may refer to: *Latvian mythology, Mārtiņš, ancient Latvian deity *Mārtiņš Antons (1888–1941), Latvian lawyer a ...

. In 2008 conductor

Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. Biography Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College a ...

recorded Missa Rigensis with the Choir of Trinity College of Cambridge. The recordings were released on CD titled "''Baltic Exchange''" on the

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

label. Prauliņš stated that his desire in composing the piece was "to retain attention by the singers' voices alone." His Christmas composition, "Latvian Solstice in the New World", was described as a song that would "disturb the solitude so people can feel real joy" in a review by

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

. The recording by Stephen Layton, Michala Petri, and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble of Prauliņš' 2010 composition "The Nightingale" (based on the eponymous fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen) was nominated for a 2013 Grammy award in two categories – "Best Contemporary Composition" and "Best Choral Performance." The Rock oratorium ''ODI et AMO 2.0'' (2018) with boys' choir

Uetersen Uetersen (, formerly known as ''Ütersen (Holstein)'') is a town in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small Pinnau River, close to the El ...

and Anna-Maria Hefele.

References

External links

* Reviews
Emotion, history combine in album Odi at Amo

Uģis Prauliņš
at Apollo (Latvian)
CBC Concerts on Demand
with Pro Coro Canada performance of "The Nightingale" in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (30 September 2012), conducto
Michael Zaugg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Praulins, Ugis 1957 births Living people Musicians from Riga Latvian composers Latvian Academy of Music alumni