Kokle in Mežaparks. In what year and on what holidays do kokl finishers participate for the first time? Where and what do they play? “This is 1979, at the closing concert of the 4th Soviet Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival in a joint performance of professional technical school students on the Grand Stage of Mežaparks. three kokles to which microphones were attached, “says the kokle, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music docent and long-term leader of the kokle ensemble” Teiksma “ Teiksma Jansone.
“Holiday chest”
Bright events permeate the history of the School Youth Song and Dance Festival. How old is it? When did teachers in parishes and parish schools realize that teaching to read, write and count alone is not enough for a child’s development?
On the winds of change, the winds of awakening, personalities and the cycle of expansion “Holiday chest” tells professionals in their field, erudite eyewitnesses and experienced participants.
–
–
So what exactly did the koklnieki play on this holiday? Not so easy Gunārs Ordelovskis “The earth is swallowing, the people are riding”. The joint wind orchestra, the joint choir of Latvian vocational technical schools and the joint kokle ensemble took part in the performance. Conducted by Gido Kokars.
“Like other industries, the issue of repertoire has always been relevant to kokle players, but we have never had to play for the party and Lenin,” Jansone emphasizes. Thus, we learn from the program that this time, among the party songs, the vitally Latvian Gunārs Ordelovskis’ “Dances Danced” is played.
Excerpt from the diary of the ensemble “Teiksma”: “The participation of students of professional technical schools in the Song Festival will make them think a bit about music and its place in human life. Hopefully other times they will not miss the Song Festival poster.”
In 1995, kokles were forgotten again. Therefore, the mission-conscious kokletas and ensemble leaders Māra Vanaga and Iveta Tauriņa went to the home of the organizers of the School Song Festival – the State Youth Initiative Center on Strūgu Street. Their conviction that the kokles should sound was so great that they moved the people in charge. “Jānis Sprancmanis was approachable, and a way is found for the kokles to appear: the closing concert of the Song Festival will be introduced by the sound of the kokles about half an hour before the concert. Several ensembles will play. Of course, there were problems with sound – how to ensure A few days before the concert, a recording with Latvian folk songs is made, mainly in the arrangement of Vilnius Salakas.
Everything went so well that the listeners were even engaged – whether the kokle players play on a phonogram or live.
At the next Song Festival in 2000, the VIII Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, the closing concert in Mežaparks was made up of four thematic parts.
Imants Mežaraups wrote, arranged and arranged the Latvian folk song cycle “Give, Gods, Climb the Mountain”. A wonderful series of Latvian folk songs, very successful. The last part of the cycle “Give, Gods, Climb the Hill” with content saturation was often played separately.
“However, the participation of the kokles was so small that they were difficult to see on the big stage. The kokles are still waiting for their concert, where the main one will be our instrument, our concert kokle,” notes Teiksma Jansone.
But until then, there are still the Song Festivals of 2005 and 2010, where kokles were performed at folk music concerts.
What innovations in this holiday, which was continued in the coming years? As a positive benefit, it should be noted that a separate Folk Music Concert has been taking place since 2005. Another good tradition – a new work is created for a specific composition. In 2005 it was the rhapsody-cantata “Well, it’s time to go to Riga” written by Imants Mežaraups, but in 2010 Valts Pūce wrote the cantata “The sun sowed silver”. “This festival culminated in this format, there were quite a few performances by kokle ensembles. It showed that kokle could have its own concert, just like it is at the big festival,” Jansone recalls.
The hall of the Riga Latvian Society also seemed too small.
On July 10, 2015, the first percussion music concert in the history of the School Youth Song and Dance Festival took place.
2015. School youth song and dance festival
Photo: from Teiksma Jansone’s personal archive
–
–
The players themselves took part in the selection of the concert’s compositions, choosing the compositions that they liked best – both from the repertoire of kokle music and the most famous music samples in the world. The concert featured various modern types of kokle – ethnographic, modernized, electric kokle in a diverse repertoire: from an ancient folk song to the premiere of Valta Pūce’s closing compositions.
The artistic director was Kristīne Ojala, who broke down stereotypes about the repertoire of kokles – any music, not just folk songs, sounds like kokles!
2015. School youth song and dance festival
Photo: from Teiksma Jansone’s personal archive
–
–
For the first time, the ensemble played compositions from classics – Emils Darzins’ “Melancholic Waltz”, Luigi Bokerini Menuets, cinematic music – Zigmars Liepins’ music from the film “Ness and Nessia”, Churchill ‘s “Three Piglets” and “Snow White and Seven”. From pop music, where Stings, “Metallica”, Renārs Kaupers played. From the golden repertoire of percussion music – Vilnius Salaka “Ūdentiņš, akmentiņš” and Romualdas Jermakas “Kas dimd, kas rīb”.
“And I wish to find new compositions, new expressions, new techniques so that kokles sound forever!” says Teiksma Jansone.
–
Highlight text and press Ctrl+Enterto send the text to be edited!
Highlight text and press Report a bug buttons to send the text to be edited!
–
–
