April 9, 2021.
The information was prepared by Egils Schaefer, head of SKANi.
Today, April 9, the national record company SKANi releases a unique choral music album Aeternum, which includes and premieres 16 specially selected new works dedicated to the centenary of Latvia by Latvian composers. The album is the culmination of the 3-year project of the State Academic Choir Latvia and its artistic director Maris Sirmas – the concert cycle “Latvian Composers for the Centenary of Latvia”.
In preparation for the celebration of Latvia’s centenary, conductor Māris Sirmais and the State Academic Choir Latvia presented an initiative for a concert cycle of new works by Latvian composers. This is how the creative laboratory was started, in which 77 Latvian composers created a cappella chords for a mixed choir, musically portraying five elements: fire, water, earth (Fatherland), sky and love. The album Aeternum includes the most significant and favorite works of Latvia’s best choirs from this cycle.
“The compositions composed as a result of this initiative are dedicated to the most outstanding and best Latvian amateur choirs, which will not only keep the duo created locally, but will bring compositional and performance quality beyond Latvia. This project was created to create real and lasting spiritual values We can be proud that a relatively small nation has so many authors who are ready and able to create high-quality music, and we can be proud that there are so many outstanding choirs that music can be played with high quality “, says Maris Sirmais, VAK Latvia artistic director and chief conductor.
The works of the concert cycle “Latvian Composers for the Centenary of Latvia” included in the album:
Eric Esenwald Rasa
Irīna Mihailovska Ritual of Fire
Valts Owl at the Song Festival
Andris Dzenitis From Heaven
Pēteris Vasks Our Mountains
Rihards Zaļupe A cry in the wind
Uldis Marhilēvičs We are
Vilnis Šmīdbergs The page, the page that falls down
Maija Einfelde Colors
Andris Kontauts Mother of the Sea, Mother of the Sea, rule your maids
Anna Ķirse A thick mist covered the ground
Jānis Aišpurs Invitation
Ansis Sauka With the Silent Light of the Stars…
Juris Kulakovs In the Forest. Night…
Raimonds Tiguls Grieze’s song
Jēkabs Jančevskis Aeternum
The album is available today, April 9, both in CD format and on all popular music download and streaming platforms around the world.
SKANi is the only music publishing house in Latvia with an extensive network of international distributors. Thanks to cooperation with partners in the USA, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Latvian music CDs released by SKAN are sold in 80 countries around the world, as well as on all digital music platforms – Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Prime and others. Last year, SKANi albums reached an audience of 400,000 listeners. SKANi is a brand of the Latvian Music Information Center, which operates thanks to the support of the SCCF and the Ministry of Culture.
Additional information:
Egil Schaefer,
SKANi manager
skani.lv
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