Dedication of Imants Kalniņš and Māra Zālīte to the Happy Land – «Milk Road» / Article

“The path of the song. Im.Ka ”

In anticipation of the 80th anniversary of composer Imants Kalniņš, LTV offers stories for eleven favorite songs of the composer. Memories are shared, significant events and legends are revealed by the composer’s family, friends and like-minded people.

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Where green grass, dark night

The film was made in 1985 as a co-production of the Riga Film Studio and the Czechoslovak studio Burandov. It has been awarded a gold medal at the 1987 International Children’s Film Festival in Italy and in 1988 at the International Children’s and Youth Film Festival in Argentina.

Imants Kalniņš composed music for eight songs with the words of Māra Zālīte. Asked about the song “Milk Road”, the composer says: “Well, of course, it follows from the text, from Māra Zālīte’s poem about this little boy’s search, going into the world and returning home.

This is Anna Brigadere’s idea, put into one beautiful poem. ”

Māra Zālīte had chosen the title “Where is the green grass, dark night” for the poem used in the final song of the film, including the popular Latvian folk songs lines for a dark night, green grass, but in the song it became “Milky Way”.

Māra Zālīte, in her country house, symbolically standing in the highest place of the neighborhood, where the horizon and the road to home is transparent, tells about the songs she created together with Imants Kalniņš: “I am very grateful to Imants Kalniņš for this beautiful music, and yes, to me directly” The Milky Way is the most expensive of the film’s tunes. This is my youth, and it was my first “knit” when I was first offered to write a film. Well, I did what I could, and those two lines with Imants’ music sound like this, it sounds like that… ”

Rise above the ground

The song “Piena ceļš” immediately after the premiere of the film in 1986, as the only one of the eight songs, added to the choir repertoire, it was sung at school song festivals, various choir concerts, major concerts until At the end of the “Star Way”.

“Like many songs of Imants Kalniņš, this one has already become folklorized, has become an old acquaintance,” says the chief conductor of the song festival Mārtiņš Klišāns. He remembers that after a conversation with Uģis Brikmanis, he called Rihards Dumbras to agree on the transformation of the song for the song festival, walking along the seaside of Liepāja, Dubra admitted: “Yes, it has been a favorite topic for me since childhood.” Mārtiņš Klišāns does not hide: “The rehearsal process for the big concert was long and difficult, but it was unimaginably beautiful, touching and still the organ of Iveta Apkalna!”

In a conversation with Iveta Apkalns, “Zoom” admits: “It turns out that the most extreme dreams come true. Being on the Mežaparks stage with an organ was my dream, and at the same time I met the composer Imants Kalniņš for the first time on a professional level.

I am convinced that during the performance of this song we all rose above the earth, we were a force, something phenomenal, inexplicable in the world between the worlds!

Yes, such a strange gravity between here and there! ”

“In my opinion, you still have to live some years in your life to fully understand and grasp the feeling of the moment,” says Mārtiņš Klišāns about the experience on the Mežaparks stage, “you see those thousands of pairs of eyes that are unforgettable and strong, and at the same time

you are in the center of that vortex and realize that this is the greatest state of peace you have ever experienced.

I wish everyone such feelings. ”

“You can never even imagine that such a great work could come out of this little song that you wrote in your new years. I was already trying not to cry in public, but at that time it was difficult to control my emotions. Many thanks to Imants for this song! ” says Māra Zālīte.

After this meeting with Imants Kalniņš’s music, Iveta Apkalna expressed at the same time satisfaction and sadness that the composer has not included the organ in her compositions: The instrument together with Jānis Poriešs trumpet materialized in the leading instrument and together with the polyphonic choir it was the culmination of the concert,

it was a way home for each of us! ”

“Of course, it is thrilling to see and hear these thousands who perform the song at the same time,” the composer Imants Kalnins concludes the story of the song “Milky Way”, “that feeling becomes gold! Gold is a tradition and we are all at that point! Thank you Mara! ”

Imants Kalniņš also wrote other compositions for the film “Sprīdītis”, such as the songs “Sīkulis un maidis”, “Sprīdītis goes to the world”, “Zeltīte’s song”, “Grandmother’s song”, ” only the “Final Song” entitled “Milky Way” continued to live in concerts and recordings, and in 1996 it was included in the sound film “Cinema Centenary”.

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