Poetry is unifying – the group «Pērkons» honors Māris Čaklo with a concert program / Article / LSM.lv

Rock group “Pērkons” has prepared a special concert program in honor of the 80th anniversary of the poet Māris Čakls. The program, which will be performed for the first time on October 17 at VEF Culture Palace, includes renewals of two masterpieces with poetry by Māris Čaklā. One is the rockatorium “As the sea, as the earth, as the sky”, the other – the rock opera “Gypsy in a dream”. According to the musicians of “Pērkona”, the poetry of Māris Čakls helped the once banned group to return to the stage.

In the concert program “Man, You are!” The unique collaboration of composers Imants Kalniņš, Juris Kulakovs and Juris Sējāns – the 1984 rockoratorium “As the sea, as the earth, as the sky” will be performed.

“Imagine these notes only exist in handwriting, and they are 35 years old, the last performance was only in 1985,” said Juris Kulakov, a member of the group “Pērkons”. “It’s basically academic music and a very complicated piece.”

It was back in 1983, when “Thunder” was first banned, then we went to Imants Kalniņš for advice – what to do? Because we still wanted to play on stage. He approached the bookshelf, pulled out a collection of poems by Māris Čakls and said: we are composing an oratorio together, ”recalls Juris Sējāns, a member of the group Pērkons.

Juris Kulakovs explained how the writing process went: “We divided the poems, there were 12 parts, and each one at home with a sheet of music at the piano.”

“We didn’t even call or discuss when everyone was ready, we wondered how well it all came together!

In an interview, Imants Kalniņš has stated that in terms of style, this is an absolutely unified composition, although there are three composers. Poetry is unifying, ”Kulakov emphasized.

Combining the sophisticated lyricism of Imants Kalniņš, the dynamics of Juris Kulakov’s rock and roll and the peaceful stability of Juris Sējāns, Māris Čakls speaks in a subtle poetic language about issues that are relevant today and always – war and peace, strength and weakness, love of homeland and victory for good.

“I could say that the cantata” As a sea, as a land, as a sky “is basically dedicated to the memory of the victims and the souls of people who have gone to a dramatic event in another sun,” said Ieva Akurātere, a member of the group “Pērkons”. “This cantata sings the transformation of the spirit through suffering and our oneness with the memories of the past, how we must somehow build a slightly more positive, brighter future with all the strength of our artists, and how we must remember those souls, both adults and children who have perished, and a sense of responsibility and continuity must be felt, for all mankind is already united. “

The singer also noted: “Amber is mentioned at the end as a symbol that we can do good deeds from our hearts, create light from giving extra good.

Not just always expecting praise or a reward for it, but simply investing additional beauty, kindness, light from your heart. ”

Juris Sējāns also said that in the update the compositions will sound better than when they were performed for the first time: “At that time, the musical instruments we played were much more modest, but anyway, we couldn’t get anything better then and played as they are. Today it will definitely sound much more stylish, much better, because there are cool acoustic systems created and the instruments are good for us, as it will definitely be much better than then, many years ago. ”

The musician noted that 40 years ago, people came to concerts to listen to words, music and live with them. “Today, perhaps for young people, rock music is more like an entertainment genre; at the time we staged these two great compositions, there was such more seriousness in listening, ”Sējāns recalls.

The second part of the concert program will feature excerpts from Juris Kulakov’s 2002 rock opera “Gypsy in a Dream”, staged at the Daugavpils Theater under the direction of Harry Petrock, for which Latvian National Theater actor Egils Melbārdis received the “Players’ Night” award as the best young actor. The poem tells about the Awakening time and the search for Latvian identity, about people who, like breathing fresh air, need love, wisdom, freedom – the three most important basic values ​​that a person cannot do without today.

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