Music of Latvia

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Traditional Latvian music is dominated by folk songs called dainas, featuring pre-Christian themes and legends, drone vocal styles and Baltic zithers.

Dainas are very short, usually only one or two stanzas, unrhymed and in a four-footed trochaic metre. Lyrically, dainas concern themselves with native mythology but, in contrast to most similar forms, does not have any legendary heroes. Stories often revolve around pre-Christian deities like the sun goddess Saule, the moon god Meness and, most notably, the life of people, especially its three most important events - birth, wedding and death (including burial). The first collection of dainas was published between 1894 and 1915 as Latvju Dainas by Krišjānis Barons.

Other forms of newer instruments include the German-influenced zinge. Accompanying village songs is various traditional instruments, the most important of which is the kokle, a type of zither derived from the Finnish kantele. In the 1970s, artists like Jānis Porikis and Valdis Muktupāvels led a revival in kokle music, which had only survived in the Kurzeme region. The Latvian-exile community abroad, especially in the United States, has also kept kokle traditions alive. However, there is currently only one kokle maker left, though he is to begin training apprentices with the help of EU grants.

During the end time of Soviet occupation, rock music became extremely popular, because it, as well as folk songs, offered a chance to rebel against the local authorities. Imants Kalniņš was the most important composer of the time, and his songs were extremely popular. He also wrote music for the movie originally called Četri balti krekli ('Four White Shirts'), later given the title Elpojiet dziļāk! ('Breathe Deeper!'), which spoke about the need of freedom and was therefore banned. One of the most important social gatherings of the time was the annual Imantdiena ('The Day of Imants (Kalnins)'), forbidden on grounds of interfering with hay-gathering. The tradition continued informally at the composer's house.

The songs of Imants Kalniņš were best known as performed by the band Menuets, which only played songs by this composer. Most of the members of the band moved on to form another band, Pērkons ('Thunder') later. Pērkons was the definition of rebellion. They played rock and roll music, using poems mostly written by Māris Melgalvs. Many of those were strongly disapproved by the Soviet authorities, as they implied the ridiculousness of the system. The most famous concert by Pērkons resulted in the destruction of a train compartment by the young people who had attended the concert. This, as well as other events, is portrayed in the movie Vai viegli būt jaunam? ('Is It Easy to Be Young?') by Juris Podnieks. Bands such as Pērkons certainly played a big role in the lives of the youth of the time, urging them to be different from what the society wanted them to be.

Nowadays, the music sphere is dominated by pop music (e.g., Prāta vētra, also known as Brainstorm) and alternative rock.

[edit] Music in Latvia

Nordic music

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[edit] References

  • Cronshaw, Andrew. "Singing Revolutions". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 16-24. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

[edit] External link

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