Nature and the Soul

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Jāzeps Vītols, Emilis Melngailis, Jēkabs Graubiņš, Emīls Dārziņš, Jānis Zālītis

Genre:

Vocal

Label: LMIC/SKANI

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 59

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 054

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
The Broken Pines Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Long Ago Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Moonbeams Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Emīls Dārziņš, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Night has entered the forest Jēkabs Graubiņš, Composer
Jēkabs Graubiņš, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Doomsday Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Gently, slowly Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Latvian Requiem Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Move gently and quietly Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
Nature and the Soul Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Sun is Setting Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Emilis Melngailis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
David Before Saul Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Day is Ending Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Dwarves and the Old Man of the Forest Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Enchanted Forest Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The King and the Mushroom Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Moon Lied Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Sun’s Revelry Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Jāzeps Vītols, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
The Goblet on the Isle of the Dead Jānis Zālītis, Composer
Jānis Zālītis, Composer
Kaspars Putnins, Conductor
Latvian Radio Choir
This is a collection of Latvian choral music selected in honour of the centenary of the independence of Latvia. As conductor Kaspars Putninš says in his introductory note: ‘The majority of Latvian conductors have probably grown up with these songs whose imagery, sound and colour are deeply encoded in our consciousness … Working on this album, I have felt as if I am writing a love letter.’

It sounds that way. One is gripped by the very first track, the atmospheric, insistent prophecy that is ‘Senatne’ (‘Long Ago’) by Emīls Dārziņš (1875-1910), every nuance of which is captured by the Latvian Radio Choir. Did they weep while recording the second song by Darzinš, ‘Mēness staro stīgo’ (‘Moonbeams’)? I did. They sing with every fibre of their being.

There is, in fact, something extraordinary about Latvian choirs: they sing as though their very lives depend on it, and when they are singing Latvian music their immediate connection with the language makes this even more apparent. There is both Nordic clarity and Slavic profundity to be heard in the sound of a Latvian choir, and there is also what I might call a poetic sense, an instinctive knowledge of how to phrase. All this is beautifully, movingly evident on this disc. All five of the composers recorded here are outstanding but what stays with me is the music by Darzinš and the wonderful, disturbing ‘Biķeris miroņu salā’ (‘The Goblet on the Isle of the Dead’) by Jānis Zālītis. At all events, this is a celebration of Latvian choral music that should not be missed. As Putninš also writes, ‘Many returns of the day, dear Latvia!’

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