A slog today, along mostly small country roads. I walked 4½ hours before I stopped for some lunch. That left only a couple of hours to my destination, with a tricky bit of navigation to find my way through the last bit of forest.
Anita will soon be here. I phoned after my lunch just as she was leaving Mežaparks. She is bringing some medical supplies – I ran out of my eye drops and the blister (on my left heel again) is growing larger. If it bursts I want to have some reasonable dressings and antibiotics so I can keep walking without fear of infection.
Anita had a great day yesterday, meeting with the four Tango sin quinto boys and Ints Teterovskis. Anita was very enthusiastic about, particularly, their discussion of plans for the New Year’s Eve Ball. Anita will meet Ints again to discuss the singing events.
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that one of Anita’s guiding principles in planning the Festival was “to recognise the special significance of singing as the cornerstone of Latvian culture by a major ‘Celebration of Song’ event”. I want to briefly explain how I understand this is to be achieved.
To non-Latvians it is difficult to appreciate the importance of song and singing as part of Latvian culture. It is perhaps easiest to explain by giving a few examples. When the three Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) became independent in about 1991, the events which led up to that happening became known as the “Singing Revolution”. This signified the importance of peaceful protest exemplified by the singing of traditional folk songs, and the part these songs played in providing inspiration for the struggle.
Latvian folk songs (dainas) were collected by scholars, such as the great Krišjānis Barons, and have now been digitalised in a major project with which our host, Imants Freibergs, was very involved, from as early as the 1960s. Every Latvian home has the 12-volume print collection of folk songs. Many have been popularised in versions arranged by composers over the years.
Traditionally, at KDs, Latvian choirs from around Australia and (since independence) guest choirs from Latvia have performed a Choir Concert. The concert has been followed by a function for choir members and their guests. This year it is planned to adjust this formula in certain respects.
At the last KDs in Sydney in 2008, the choirs represented were a male choir and a mixed choir from both Sydney and Adelaide, a mixed choir from Melbourne, youth choirs from Melbourne and Sydney, and a choir made up of individuals who had formed a ‘virtual’ choir (Atbalsis) to perform at the Song Festival in Latvia in July 2008 and a mixed choir (Juventus) of about 50 voices from Latvia.
The Choir Concert was in three parts – the mixed choirs performed a bracket of songs, then after an interval the male choirs, with the mixed choirs finishing the concert. The songs were a mixture of traditional or new arrangements of folk songs, traditional songs and songs by more modern composers (including popular songs). The songs were conducted by local conductors and conductors from the Juventus choir.
This year the singing events at the festival are being organised by Jolanta Larmane, who came to Australia from Latvia less than 10 years ago. She has considerable experience organising events in Latvia, including an annual summer solstice festival at Sigulda. She has been fortunate to have been able to consult and receive advice from Viktors Bendrups, who organised the choir events at KDs in Melbourne for many many years.
KDs in Australia has its foundation in the Song Festivals held in Latvia since 1873. The 24th Festival in Latvia was held in 2008. Anita, and a number of other Australian Latvians including Jolanta, sang in the Closing Concert at the Festival. It is this occasion which has provided the inspiration for the Celebration of Song event at this years KDs. Of course, the events are very different – in Latvia, about 13,000 singers form the Festival choir and the event is staged at Mežaparks (near to where we stay) in a purpose-built outdoor facility with provision for the singers, conductors and orchestra, and outside stalls are set up to sell food and refreshments. There is seating for an audience of over 40,000.
The Song Festival Closing Concert starts at about 21:00 with a formal concert of a range of songs similar to the KD mix, although with perhaps more emphasis on modern composers. The concert finishes at about midnight. The second part of the programme then begins with the audience joining in the singing and continues until dawn. The song words are shown on large screens and the “audience choir” is conducted by the Festival conductors with an accompanying band. From time to time people get refreshments from the stalls and return to keep singing – and sometimes dancing.
When this part of the programme finishes (so Anita reported to me, as Lija and I had gone home much earlier), there is spontaneous singing inspired by individual conductors. This is where Anita was inspired by Agita’s energy and charisma, and was one of the principal reasons she and Jolanta asked Agita to come to the Australian Festival. When all that finished, the 15 or so singers who were staying at our house came home and set up in the cellar, some with instruments, and continued singing until at least 06:00.
So, what of the Latvian Song Festival Closing Concert can be reproduced in Melbourne in December? Traditionally at KDs, there has been a formal Choir Concert followed by an after-party for participants and their guests. At the after-party, a meal is provided and there is much singing – by all the participants together and separate performances of specially composed songs by each individual choir.
In December, the Celebration of Song will be held at the St Kilda Town Hall, about 400m from Latvian House. The first part will be a concert with the participation of choirs and singers from Australian cities and, perhaps, singers from Latvia. There will be 25 songs in a programme finalised by Jolanta and Agita, after all the Australian choirs had been canvassed. The songs include a song cycle by Fricis Bārda which Agita said was extremely popular when she took it to America recently.
In addition to the mixed choirs and male choirs, Jolanta has organised a childrens’ choir from the Melbourne Latvian School – including Lija – (with some participation by children from interstate) and she also rehearses individual singers not attached to any particular choir who attend for a 2-hour rehearsal each Saturday after Latvian School – including Anita and Jāna.
In February, 200 songbooks with the words and music of the songs were printed and distributed. Further songbooks were published when interest exceeded available numbers, which sounds very promising. In April, recordings were prepared of each of the voice parts (a total of 8), and the combined voices with accompaniment, for each of the songs. These were prepared in a professional studio in Riga by Kārlis Rūtentāls, one of Agita’s colleagues, and a group of singers from the prestigious Latvian Radio Choir. A series of CDs have been prepared and are available for singers to learn their parts independently of choir rehearsal attendance, or supplementary to rehearsals. Anita said she was playing a disc, and singing along, on her way down here on the bus. This was how Anita learned the songs for the Latvian Song Festival in 2008. Agita, Jolanta and an Adelaide conductor, Aldis Sils will conduct a general rehearsal in August and hopefully as many singers as possible will come to Melbourne to participate. Further rehearsals will be held during the Festival in the lead-up to the concert.
One of the songs that will be sung at the concert is Mārtiņš Brauns’s Saule Perkons Daugava. Here is a link to the You Tube video of the encore performance at the 2008 Latvian Song Festival Closing Concert. You will hear Anita singing, with 13,000 others. The composer played the (very much amplified) keyboard solo at the performance. He is the performer in the red jacket. Mārtiņš had agreed to come to Australia for the Festival but unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances earlier this year meant that he had to withdraw. Anita spoke to Mārtiņš by phone yesterday and the plan to invite Mārtiņš to Australia at another time is never far from Anita’s mind. Jolanta’s children’s choir will be singing Mārtiņš’s song along with the adult choirs.
After the formal concert, the hall will be rearranged with tables for a sit-down meal and the second part of the programme. The meal will be traditional Latvian food provided by a Belarusian who at one stage lived in Riga and now runs a successful catering business in Melbourne. The meal will be provided without cost to all the choir singers. Other attendees will pay, although there will be a cheaper children’s’ rate and a special menu.
Music for the formal concert, and for the second part of the programme will be provided by Tango sin quinto. Agita, Ints and Aldis will conduct the second part involving audience singing. It is anticipated that individual choirs and their conductors may also give ‘special performances’. The hall’s projector will be used to display the words of the songs on a large screen.
This event should be one of the highlights of the Festival. It will be a must-attend event not only for all with a Latvian background, but will offer a perfect opportunity for non-Latvians to experience many aspects of Latvian culture – the singing, the food and the feeling of community. Anita was successful in obtaining a City of Port Philip subsidy which reduced the cost of hiring the Town Hall, with associated security and other staff by $2,500.
It is anticipated that the Australian Latvian men’s choirs and a festival youth choir will also feature in the Opening Concert of the Festival on 27 December at St Michael’s Uniting Church, an event which will provide a snapshot of festival events. If I have the opportunity, I will write about that event as well.
But I have strayed from the main subject of my blog. In the meantime, Anita has arrived here at the Freibergi residence and we have enjoyed a very warm and entertaining mealtime with Vaira and Imants. We are both very grateful for their generous hospitality.
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