Anthology of Latvian Choral Music. Volume 2
COMMENTARY

Contents of volume 2:

• 39 songs for mixed choir
• 8 songs for male choir
• 5 songs for female choir

and

• Introduction
• Commentary
• List of Latvian Sounds In Phonetic Transcription
• Short biographical overwiev anf photos of composers
• English translations of All songs

Bibliographical and textological data about each song is to be found in the commentary in Latvian. The English variant is of an informative nature with brief descriptions of the songs and their authors. Data about a text author appears only in the commentary to the song where his name occurs for the first time. The words first publication are replaced by the sign *.

• p. 25 K.Baumanis. God, Bless Latvia, for mixed choir. This simple melody with the composer's words appeared in the early 1870's and has become the most popular and historic of Latvian songs. After its first performance during the official opening of the 1 st Song Festival in 1873, it became widely known as the unofficial Latvian national anthem, notwithstanding the fact that the word Latvia itself was for a time censored " by the tsarist regime. For Latvia's freedom fighters during the First World War it became the symbol of the independent state which was their goal. Hence declaring it the Latvian national anthem in June 1920 was but a formality. In June 1945, by the decree of the occupying Soviet regime, it lost this status for a number of decades, but regained it again on the l5th February 1990 with the passing of the law On the National Anthem of the Latvian Republic.
• p. 27 K.Baumanis. Song of My Homeland, for male choir. First performed at the 1 st Song Festival in 1873, * 1873. Composed after the publication in 1871 of the poem by Martins Lapa (1846-1909), at the time a popular author of sentimental and patriotic verse.
• p. 29 K.Baumanis. How the Daugava Moans, for male choir. 01874. The song is based on the poem Trimpula (Dithyramba) written in 1873 by Auseklis (1850-1879), a prominent poet during the period of National Awakening. It is conceived as an analogy to the ancient Greek dithyrambs to Bacchus, whose counterpart in Baltic romanticized mythology, Trimpus or Potrimps, is mentioned in the text. So too are the thunder throwing deity Perkons and Latvia's largest river, the Daugava, with its legendary Staburags rock. The dark splendour of the music and its community song genre may account for its popularity and its use for other song texts during the 1905 Revolution.
• p. 32 A.Ore. Song of the Daugava Fishermen, for male choir. * 1890. The words ( * 1872) are by the folklorist and poet F.Brivzemnieks (1846-1907). The song has now become almost a part of Latvian folklore. The Daugava is Latvia's largest river; Perkons (Thunder) is one of the principal deities in Latvian mythology.
• p. 35 A.Jurjans. In Latvia, for male choir. * 1890. Auseklis wrote this patriotic poem in 1875. In keeping with the traditions of romanticism, Auseklis makes use of mythological and pseudo-mythological imagery from a romanticized Latvian past: Romava - the sacred centre, Uzins - a deity, Liga - the poet's personification of Midsummer Eve. Also mentioned is the Daugava - Latvia's largest river.
• p. 39 A.Jurjans. Behold, the Rose is Blooming, for male choir. The lyrics by A. Liventals (1803-1878) belong to the period of Sentimentalism in Latvian literature, * 1831. Frequently republished, they underwent considerable editorial changes in the course of time. The song, probably originating in 1888, is still popular in Latvia, even though the lyrics are often looked upon as a sentimental play of words. In Latvian mythology Laima is the goddess of destiny.
• p. 43 J.Straume. By the Baltic Sea, for male choir. * 1902. In this publication the text, which in the course of time was modified as required by censorship, has been restored from *.
• p. 48 J. Vitols. Autumn, for mixed choir. Composed in 1896, - 1898. This is one of the few choral works in which Vitols has imitated the characteristics of Latvian folk songs. This was prompted by Auseklis’ poem (* Midsummer festivity songs. The kokle is a Latvian string instrument which is plucked. For Potrimps - see commentary on How the Daugava Moans.
• p. 51 J.Vitols. The Castle of Light, for mixed choir. The poem by Auseklis (* 1888) is subtitled Legend of Kurzeme (Kurzeme is a district in the western part of Latvia approximately occupying the territory of the Duchy of Courland of 1561-1795). However, the legend about a sunken castle rising again acquires a wider symbolic meaning in the poem: the loss of independence by the Latvian tribes and their organized communities in the l3th century and the Latvian people's struggle to regain freedom and independence. The song was composed in 1899, * 1901. It has become Vitols' most popular choral ballad and for many decades has been widely used as a symbol of the fate of the Latvian people and their hopes for the future.
• p. 57 J.Vitols. The Forest Lake, for male choir. * 1900, composed in April of the same year. Words by the German poetess A. Drosste-Hülshoff (1797-1848). 0 of the Latvian translation by A. Kenins (1874-1961 ) in 1899. The song is among Vitols' most popular lyrical portrayals of nature for choir.
• p. 59 J.Vitols. The Day is Dawning, for mixed choir. Composed 1903, * 1906. The lyrics are by Janis Esenbergis (1862-1890), one of the early romantics of Latvian poetry. * of the poem 1890.
• p. 63 J.Vitols. The King's Daughter, for mixed choir. * 1906, but composed in August 1903, soon after the publication of Rainis' book of poems Far off Echoes on a Blue Evening. Rainis (1865-1929), the most important Latvian poet and dramatist of the early 20th century, reveals himself here for the firs t time as a refined lyrical poet and voices his high moral and social ideals. This book of verse has therefore been a source of lyrics for Latvian composers time and time again. The themes of this poem are taken from Latvian folklore but are given a wider allegorical meaning. The King's daughter, who languishes underground for six hundred years, symbolizes the Latvian people's independence and freedom, lost in the l3th century. The last verse voices not only of the need to struggle for freedom, but also for social justice.
• p. 69 J.Vitols. The River and the Life of Man, for mixed choir. Composed August 1903, 01906. The words are by Krisjanis Barons (1835-1923), a writer and well known folklorist, the compiler of the first academic six volume edition of Latvian folk song texts, Latvian Dainas (with 217, 966 stanzas). An earlier edition of this poem was published in 1862. In this somewhat autobiographical poem the river represents life dedicated to social ideals and public welfare.
• p. 74 J.Vitols. The King and the Mushroom, for mixed choir. Composed 1912, 01914. The words ('** 1911) are by FBarda (1880-1919), the outstanding romantic of Latvian poetry. It is the first of a number of choral ballads by Vitols which make use of romantic fantasy and symbolism.
• p. 78 J.Vitols. Three Gypsy Songs, for mixed choir. Composed 1914, * as a separate publication in 1916 by M. FBelyayev in St. Petersburg. * of F Barda's group of poems 1911.
• p. 88 J.Vitols. The Haunted Thicket, for mixed choir. Composed in 1916, * 1921. Words (* 1913) by V. Pludonis (pseudonym of Vilis Lejnieks,1874-1904), well known in Latvian literature for his mastery of the ballad and long poem. In this song Vitols continues to develop his choral fantasy ballad (he himself refers to it as mystically tragic), a genre which he began in 1912 with The King and the Mushroom.
• p. 98 E.Melngailis. Long Ago, for mixed choir. Composed 1904, * 1905. 0 of the poem by Rainis 1902. Modifying the traditions of national romanticism, Rainis enriches a vivid picture of the past with motifs of social protest and a radiant vision of the future.
• p.103 E.Melngailis. Moonbeams, for mixed choir. * 1906. The author of this popular poem is Aspazija (pseudonym of Elza Rozenberga, 1865-1943), the first and most striking poetess of the late Romantic period in Latvian literature. * of the poem in 1894 in her play Vaidelote.(The Vestal). The music for the first performance of this was composed by Jazeps Vitols. Later Emils Darzins and Jazeps Medins also used the poem for their compositions, all these composers interpreting it as a romance. E.Melngailis. however. treats it as an emotionally detached serenade and gives it a lightly swaying character.
• p. l06 E.Melngailis. Latvian Requiem, 4 songs for mixed choir: Move Gently and Quietly. Gently, Slowly. The Sun is Setting. Doomsday. Melngailis refers to these four songs as parts of his Latvian Requiem, although they were composed and published at various times (* 1906,1912,1921,1911 respectively) and are usually performed separately; it is not known whether other parts were also envisaged. The first three songs are based on extracts from V Pludonis' poem Requiem (* 1899), selected and modified by Melngailis; the words of fourth song are by Rainis (* 1903).
• p.130 E.Melngailis. Sailors' Song, for male choir. * 1912; lyrics (* 1905) by Rainis from his play Fire and Night. The play is set in the l3th century when Christianity was imposed upon Latvia and it submitted to the power of Rome. The lyrics are taken from an episode in Act 3 where Latvian youths, on their way to study in Rome, sing a enthusiastic parting song to their patroness Spidola unaware of the tragic consequences of the journey at hand for themselves and for their homeland. Melngailis intended writing an opera based on the play.
• p.134 E.Darzins. Beloved Motherland, for male choir. Composed April 1898, *1901. Based on an excerpt from F. Schiller's play William Tell using a free translation by Auseklis (* 1873).
• p.136 E.Darzins. Mignon, for mixed choir. Composed 1900, * 1901. Based on a poem by W. Goethe, translated by Rudolfs Blaumanis (* 1899) but considerably modified by the composer and in places translated anew.
• p.138 E.Darzins. Moonbeams, for mixed choir. Composition dated 1901, * 1902. For information about the lyrics see the note on Melngailis' song with the same title. The song is one of the first and most outstanding examples of truly subjective lyrical expression in Latvian choral music.
• p.141 E. Darzins. The Broken Pines, for mixed choir. Composed February 1904, * 1905. 0 of the final version of the poem by Rainis 1903. The song is one of the masterpieces of Latvian choral music of its time. The broken pines symbolize those striving for social ideals. The music is remarkable for its masterful and artistically elevating treatment of the simple melodic material.
• p.l 47 E. Darzins. In Distant Dreams, for mixed choir. Composed April 1904, * 1906. 0 of the poem by Aspazija 1895. The same lyrics have been used by Jazeps Vitols and Alfreds Kalnins in solo songs well known in Latvia.
• p.152 E.Darzins. Long Ago, for mixed choir. Composed 1904, * 1906. This is not the only instance in Latvian music when the same lyrics used by more than one composer have resulted in choral compositions of equal worth. While Melngailis' musical interpretation of the song has an epic nature and expresses a feeling of monumental calm, Darzins stresses the contrasts in Rainis' poem and interprets it with emotion and empathy.
• p.l 57 E.Darzins. Mermaids' Song, for female choir. Composed in 1906. Lyrics from the play Tragedy by Janis Jaunsudrabins (1877-1962), a well known Latvian artist and author of poetry and prose. Acting as goddesses of destiny in the play, the Mermaids sing these words, attempting to draw the hero, a youth devoted to abstract ideals, into full-blooded life.
• p.158 E.Darzins. Children of Zion, for mixed choir. Composed 1905, * 1906. Aspazija's poem (* 1899) was inspired by the destruction in the late nineties of the Jauna strava (The New Current) socialist movement of the Latvian intelligentsia by the Tsar's forces, with the arrest and persecution of its members. In the poem images of suffering and a protest against the trampling of mankind's highest aspirations are heightened by the use of the motifs and symbols of the Old Testament.
• p.163 E.Darzins. Forever Blue, for male choir. Composed 1909, * 1910. Words are by Karlis Skalbe (1879-1945), a notable poet and the finest Latvian writer of fairy tales. * of the poem 1906, but considerably modified by the composer: while Skalbe links his mournful landscape with the memory of the victims of the 1905 Revolution, the song encompasses a general vision of the suffering of the Latvian people and of their heroic spirit long ago. The kokle is a Latvian string instrument; the Daugava-Latvia's largest river.
• p.166 E.Darzins. Like a Star, for male choir. Composed and 01910. The lyrics (01906) by Karlis Jekabsons (1879-1946), a poet orientated towards impressionism.
• p.169 E.Darzins. I Know, for male choir. Composed and * 1910. Lyrics (01904) by Janis Poruks (1871-1911 ), a notable writer of prose and poetry and a leading neo-romanticist, the first in Latvian literature to express philosophic ideas about life based on a poem (* 1898) by Rudolfs Blaumanis (1863-1908), a leading Latvian dramatist and writer of short stories.
• p.178 A.Kalnins. Imanta, for mixed choir. Composed 1903, * 1906. Lyrics by Andrejs Pumpurs (1841-1902), a noteworthy representative of national romanticism, the author of the Latvian national epic Lacplesis (The Bear slayer). The poem Imanta is based on the l2th century legendary Liv warrior, a defender of Riga mentioned in the chronicles and given literary treatment by the German enlightener G.Merkel (1769-1850) in his work Wannem Imanta, eine lettische Sage (1802).
• p.l 82 A. Kalnins. As the Swallows Depart, for mixed choir. Composed early 1907, * 1912. 0 of the poem by Auseklis 1888.
• p.185 A.Kalnins. Come, Brothers, for male choir. Composed no later than 1907, * 1914. * of the poem by Karlis Skalbe 1901.
• p.189 J.Zalitis. The Goblet on the Isle of the Dead, for mixed choir. Composed 1912, * 1914. The poem by Janis Poruks alludes to the painting Isle of the Dead by A. Böcklin (1827-1901 ). At the same time the goblet, in whose golden drink the anguish of mankind is drowned, symbolizes the healing power of the arts.
• p.198 J.Zalitis. Bythe Bard's Grave, for mixed choir. The song and the lyrics written in memory of the composer Emils Darzins (1875-1910), who died in tragic circumstances, and first performed at his grave during the unveiling of his monument in Riga 1913. The lyrics are by Antons Austrins (1884-1934), a Latvian writer of poetry and prose. The kokle is a Latvian string instrument.
• p. 201 J.Zalitis. At Night, for mixed choir. * 1914. Based on one of the classics of Latvian love poetry written by Rainis (* 1912).
• p. 203 J.Zalitis. The Heart is So Heavy, for mixed choir. * 1915; * of the poem by Rainis 1902. In this choral elegy the composer's innovative harmonies, a synthesis of chromatic and medieval diatonic, are fully expressed forthe first time.
• p. 205 J.Zalitis. The Way to My Homeland, for mixed choir. Composed 1916, * 1921. The poem by Peteris Blaus (1856-1930) is typical of the so-called refugee poetry, a branch of Latvian verse with a specific theme, written during the First World War when almost a quarter of Latvia's inhabitants were forced to leave their homeland.
• p. 208 J.Zalitis. Birch Grove, for mixed choir. Composed 1916, 01921. The poet Karlis Jekabsons merges an impressionistic image of nature with a patriotic motif. * of the poem 1913
• p. 213 J.Zalitis. The Divine Spirit, for mixed choir. First appeared in April 1918, * 1921. Lyrics by J. Poruks (01897).
• p. 226 K.Kazocins. Like Swans, for mixed choir. The last song written by the prematurely deceased composer in June 1918, * 1921. The lyrics are by Eduards Veidenbaums (1867-1892), an vivid figure in early Latvian socio-philosophic poetry.
• p. 231 A.Abele. In the Clear Blue Distance, for mixed choir. The song and lyrics written by the composer while studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, L71914. One of his first compositions, it already shows his characteristic gift for making an impression by using unusually long and sustained contemplation.
• p. 235 A.Abele. In a Haven, for mixed choir. * 1921. Rainis wrote the poem in 1897 in prison in Pskov where he was held in connection with the persecution of left-wing intellectuals during this period. The wrongs inflicted by his colleagues and associates, from which Rainis suffered in the nineties, have influenced the content of the poem.

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