BEGIN WITH LISTENING AND COMPARISON

In this lesson, Latvian music is examined within a Baltic context alongside composers from Lithuania and Estonia. This is not a competition to determine which country is “more musical”, nor is it an attempt to describe the music of an entire nation using a single word. We will compare selected examples of music from the second half of the twentieth century and the contemporary period: the Latvian composers Pēteris Vasks, Romualds Kalsons, and Pēteris Plakidis, the Lithuanian composer Bronius Kutavičius, and the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Their works will help us hear several distinctive directions – lyrical folk allusion, concert drama, explorations of timbre, ritualistic repetition, and the transparency of tintinnabuli.

THE BALTIC CONTEXT – A SHARED HISTORY, BUT NOT A SINGLE STYLE

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are neighbouring Baltic states, but their languages and cultural traditions are not the same. Lithuanian and Latvian belong to the Baltic group of languages, whereas Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family. The countries are connected by geographical proximity, a long tradition of singing, twentieth-century occupations, Soviet cultural control, and the restoration of independence. In all three countries, music became an important expression of cultural memory and identity.

During the Soviet period, professional music was created within institutions supervised by the state. Composers’ unions, publishing houses, and concert organisations could promote ideologically acceptable works, while religious or openly national themes were restricted. Nevertheless, composers found indirect ways of communicating. An image of nature, a bird call, an ancient ritual, an intonation reminiscent of a folk melody, or an extended silence could become more than merely musical devices – they could represent vulnerable memory, spiritual refuge, or a longing for freedom.

A similar historical experience therefore did not create a single “Baltic style”. Each composer chose an individual musical language. In this lesson, the music of Latvian composers will more frequently reveal emotionally dense expression close to Neo-Romanticism and allusions to folklore. Kutavičius’s works will introduce us to ritualistic repetition that evokes archaic layers of culture, while Pärt’s music will reveal a space of silence, simplicity, and transparency created through the tintinnabuli principle.

HOW TO LISTEN: FROM AN AUDIBLE FEATURE TO INTERPRETATION

When comparing compositions, apply the same questions to each one. What is the tempo, and does it change? Is the melody broad and song-like, or is it made up of short repeated motifs? Is the texture transparent, allowing individual voices to be heard clearly, or dense and saturated with many layers? Which timbres are emphasised? How is tension created – through increasing volume, dissonance, rhythm, repetition, register contrast, or silence? Is folklore quoted directly, or is it only suggested through intonation, rhythm, and sound?

It is important to distinguish between a fact, a listening observation, and an interpretation. A fact would be the statement that “Distant Light” was composed for violin and string orchestra. An observation would be that, at the beginning of the work, the violin line rises slowly while the orchestra creates a fragile background. An interpretation would be that this sonic distance may suggest a hope that is difficult to reach. Interpretations may differ, but they are not arbitrary: a good explanation must be supported by what you actually hear in the work and by what you know about its context.

THE LATVIAN DIRECTION – FOLKLORE MEMORY AND NEO-ROMANTIC TENSION

A strong Neo-Romantic tendency can be observed in Latvian symphonic music of the late twentieth century. This does not mean simply repeating nineteenth-century Romanticism. Contemporary composers once again gave considerable importance to extended emotional lines, song-like melody, pronounced climaxes, and themes of inner human experience, while combining these features with modern harmony, unusual timbres, and dramatic contrasts.

Folklore does not always appear in this music as an easily recognisable quotation of a folk song. A quotation allows us to hear a specific borrowed fragment. An allusion functions indirectly: a new melody may recall the intonation of a folk song, two harps may suggest the timbre of the kokle, and a repeated dance rhythm may evoke traditional music-making. Musicologist Jānis Kudiņš associates such quotations and allusions in Latvian Neo-Romantic music with a “voice from the past”. The past is not recreated literally; instead, it emerges as an echo of memory within a contemporary composition.

PĒTERIS VASKS – FRAGILE SOUND, PAIN, AND HOPE

Pēteris Vasks (b. 1946) is one of the internationally best-known Latvian composers. His music often brings two worlds into confrontation: a quiet, song-like sound suggesting nature or spiritual contemplation, and harsh, threatening tension. The music may develop very slowly, but restrained movement does not mean that nothing is happening. A sustained note, a slightly altered harmony, or the entrance of a new instrumental voice can completely change the emotional direction.

“Musica dolorosa” for string orchestra was composed in 1983 and dedicated to the memory of the composer’s sister Marta. The title means “sorrowful music”. The tension of the work arises from song-like lines, increasingly dense texture, dissonances, and climaxes. It is not a programme describing a specific event, but rather a concentrated experience of mourning in which personal grief acquires universal meaning.

“Lauda per orchestra” was composed to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Krišjānis Barons. The title means “praise for orchestra”. The work contains themes reminiscent of folk singing, dance, and chorale, but they are not simply a collage of authentic melodies. Vasks creates an impression of closeness to folklore through his own musical means. Different layers collide, the music reaches dramatic climaxes, and the ending returns to a more restrained state.

In the Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra “Distant Light” (1997), the solo violin voice alternately rises above the orchestra and merges into it. Broad melodies, pauses, fragile sounds in the high register, and sudden contrasts allow the music to be interpreted as a dialogue between hope, memory, and threat. Folklore is usually heard here not as a literal quotation but as the shadow of a familiar singing style. Vasks’s example teaches us to listen to slow musical development: what matters is not the number of events, but the emotional weight of each sound.

ROMUALDS KALSONS – CONCERT DRAMA AND A “VOICE FROM THE PAST”

The music of Romualds Kalsons (1936–2024) often contains greater movement, theatricality, and sharp contrasts. In his Violin Concerto, composed in the late 1970s, the soloist is not merely a performer of beautiful melodies. The soloist becomes a dramatic character whose musical ideas confront the orchestra, oppose it, or temporarily find a shared direction.

In this four-movement concerto, a lyrical centre in the third movement appears alongside energetic and sometimes grotesque episodes. A theme reminiscent of folklore is heard there. Researchers have not identified a specific folk song that is quoted literally, so it is more accurate to describe it as a stylistic allusion or “imagined quotation”. Its narrow melodic range, diatonic writing, and recitative-like movement create the impression of an old song. The soloist and orchestra develop the theme towards a climax, after which it gradually recedes. In this way, a voice of memory is incorporated into contemporary concert drama.

PĒTERIS PLAKIDIS – TIMBRE AS ALLUSION

Pēteris Plakidis (1947–2017) was a composer, pianist, and teacher whose music places particular importance on tone colour, precisely selected instrumental combinations, and subtle stylistic references. His symphonic composition “Dziedājums”, also known as “Canto”, does not include a kokle, yet in one episode two harps evoke this Latvian instrument through rhythm and timbre.

This is an example of a timbral allusion. The composer does not quote a specific kokle melody or mechanically imitate the instrument. Instead, he uses the sound of harp strings, a light dance pulse, and transparent texture to evoke the sonic image of the kokle in the listener’s memory. The episode appears in the composition like a brief memory of a luminous past and then disappears again. Plakidis’s music teaches us that a cultural connection can be created not only through melody: it can also be conveyed through timbre, register, rhythm, and instrumentation.

LITHUANIA: BRONIUS KUTAVIČIUS – RITUAL AND ARCHAIC TIME

Bronius Kutavičius (1932–2021) is regarded as one of the most important Lithuanian composers of the second half of the twentieth century and as one of the pioneers of Lithuanian Minimalism. In his work, ancient culture is not presented as a museum exhibit. The composer creates a musical ritual in which the spatial arrangement of performers, repeated rhythms, a limited set of pitches, and text draw the listener into the action.

In works such as “Last Pagan Rites” (1978), ostinato repetition alters the perception of time. A short motif returns many times, voices may move in canon, and the choir is positioned around the listeners. Rather than merely telling us about a ritual, the music itself becomes a ritual. Archaic expression here does not mean an exact reconstruction of ancient music. It is created using contemporary means that evoke an imagined order of the ancient world, communal experience, and cyclical time.

When compared with Vasks, a shared interest in memory can be heard, but the means of expressing it are different. In Vasks’s music, memory often becomes a lyrical, vulnerable echo and an extended emotional arc. In Kutavičius’s works, it more often functions through collective ritual, persistent repetition, and space. A similar theme therefore does not necessarily result in a similar sound.

ESTONIA: ARVO PÄRT – SILENCE, TRANSPARENCY AND TINTINNABULI

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) developed his distinctive tintinnabuli compositional principle in 1976. The Latin-derived name is associated with bells. Two voices are typically paired: one moves stepwise through the notes of a selected scale, while the other follows notes of the principal triad. Strict rules create a musical space that appears simple on the surface but is highly concentrated.

Tintinnabuli first appeared clearly in the piano work “Für Alina” (1976) and later became the basis of compositions such as “Fratres”, “Tabula rasa”, and “Spiegel im Spiegel”. In Pärt’s music, silence is not an empty space between sounds. A pause allows the previous sound to resonate and prepares the listener’s attention for the next one. Slow tempo, limited musical material, and transparent texture encourage the listener to focus on the beginning, resonance, and disappearance of each sonority.

Pärt and Vasks share an interest in contemplation, spiritual themes, and the significance of silence, but their musical languages are not the same. Vasks’s works often build towards emotionally powerful climaxes and contrast fragility with threat. Pärt’s music more often relies on the deliberate limitation of musical means and a strict organisation of pitches. Therefore, describing both simply as “slow and quiet music” would be too superficial.

COMPARISON WITHOUT STEREOTYPES

For learning purposes, it may be convenient to say: Latvia – lyrical folk allusion; Lithuania – ritual and archaic expression; Estonia – silence, transparency, and tintinnabuli. This framework provides a useful starting point for listening, but it must not be turned into an unchanging rule. Latvia also has radical experimental music, Lithuania has lyrical and Neo-Romantic music, and Estonia has dramatic music with dense textures. Even composers from the same country differ greatly: Kalsons’s concert drama is not identical to Vasks’s slow emotional arcs, while Plakidis’s timbral allusion functions differently from the musical approaches of both of them.

FROM LISTENING TO INTERPRETATION

A well-supported interpretation can be constructed in three steps. First, make a claim: for example, “In Kutavičius’s music, time is experienced as ritualistic.” Then identify the audible evidence: short motifs are repeated for extended periods, voices enter in layers, and performers surround the audience. Finally, explain the meaning: repetition removes the usual sense of a goal-directed narrative and allows the listener to feel like a participant in a ritual.

It is also possible to argue that Plakidis’s “Dziedājums / Canto” evokes the memory of the kokle without using a direct quotation. The evidence would be the timbre of the two harps, the dance pulse, and transparent texture; the explanation would be that these characteristics recall the sound of the traditional instrument. Another listener may propose a different meaning, but that interpretation must also be supported by audible features.
Comparing Baltic composers demonstrates that musical identity is not simply a collection of melodies. It can be embedded in a work’s sense of time, timbre, silence, ritualistic repetition, the development of an emotional climax, or even a deliberately subtle reference. By listening, comparing, and interpreting, we learn not to attach simplistic labels to music, but to notice how different composers transform a shared regional history into distinctive sonic experiences.

STUDENT VIDEOS: LISTEN AND ENTER THE MISSING WORDS

VIDEO 1 | SOFIJA RUKAITĖ: THREE DIRECTIONS IN BALTIC MUSIC

VIDEO 2 | AUGUSTINAS SUBOČIUS: MUSICAL MEMORY IN PĒTERIS VASKS

VIDEO 3 | SOFIJA RUKAITĖ: KALSONS’S DRAMA AND PLAKIDIS’S TIMBRE

VIDEO 4 | AUGUSTINAS SUBOČIUS: KUTAVIČIUS, PÄRT, AND THE LATVIAN DIRECTION

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED TODAY?

ACTIVITY 1 | CROSSWORD: BALTIC COMPOSERS AND MUSICAL TERMS

Solve the crossword. The answers are the surnames of composers and musical terms discussed in the lesson. Write the diacritical marks in names, surnames, and terms exactly as they appear in the lesson text.

ACTIVITY 2 | MEMORY GAME “WHAT BELONGS TOGETHER?”

ACTIVITY 3 | COMPARATIVE MINI-ESSAY “TWO BALTIC COMPOSERS”

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER?

• The Baltic countries are connected by geographical proximity and some shared historical experiences, but they do not have a single common musical style.
• Music should be compared using the same criteria: tempo, texture, timbre, melody, repetition, silence, and the creation of tension.
• A quotation directly incorporates a recognisable fragment, whereas an allusion evokes a tradition or another sound indirectly.
• Slow emotional arcs, the contrast between fragility and threat, and the memory of folklore are important features of Pēteris Vasks’s music.
• Romualds Kalsons’s music is characterised by movement, drama, and the relationship between soloist and orchestra.
• Pēteris Plakidis demonstrates that cultural memory can be evoked through timbre: in “Dziedājums / Canto”, two harps recall the sound of the kokle.
• In Bronius Kutavičius’s music, repetition, space, and the actions of performers can create a ritualistic experience that evokes archaic culture.
• Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli principle is based on the relationship between a melodic voice and the notes of a triad, while silence becomes an active part of the music.
• National descriptions are only listening reference points: each composer’s work should be considered individually.
• Interpretation must be based on an audible characteristic, historical or cultural context, and a clear explanation.

END-OF-LESSON REFLECTION

Complete the three sentences:

• When listening to Baltic composers from now on, I will first pay attention to…
• I was most surprised by the difference between…
• I can support my interpretation when…

SOURCES USED