BEGIN WITH LISTENING AND OBSERVATION

Imagine three musical situations. On a vast open-air stage, several thousand people are singing at the same time. On a theatre stage, soloists portray characters and tell their story through song, while the orchestra intensifies the dramatic action. In the third situation, a performer touches the strings of a wooden string instrument and produces a clear, lingering, resonant sound.

In each case, we hear music, but the way it functions is different. In a choir, the most important element is the collective voice created by many people. In opera, music creates characters, conflict, and a staged narrative. In kokle music, our attention is drawn to the instrument’s distinctive timbre and its connection with an ancient tradition. When listening, you may first notice the number of performers, the blending of voices, the text, the colour of the instrument’s sound, the mood, or the action taking place on stage. Only later do we connect the sound with a genre, historical period, and specific work.

A musical genre and a cultural symbol are not the same thing. Opera is a genre; a choir is a performing ensemble, choral music is the repertoire written for it, and the kokle is an instrument. In Latvia, however, all three have gradually become cultural symbols passed on through singing, celebrations, performances, education, and new creative work.

THREE CULTURAL SYMBOLS – THREE WAYS IN WHICH MUSIC FUNCTIONS

Latvian music is not limited to these phenomena, yet the choir, the opera stage, and the kokle reveal the relationship between tradition and professional musical creation particularly clearly. They can be summarised as follows: the choir – a collective voice; opera – musical storytelling; the kokle – the memory of sound.

THE CHOIR – THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY

The choir is one of the most distinctive symbols of Latvian musical culture. Choral culture encompasses not only concerts but also music education, rehearsals, the work of conductors, the preparation of compositions and arrangements, competitions, and the learning of repertoire for the Song Festival.

A mixed choir is usually divided into soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sections. Each performs its own part, which means that several melodic lines sound simultaneously. One may carry the main melody, while others support the harmony, create rhythmic movement, or provide contrast. This simultaneous sounding of several independent voices is called polyphony.

At the Song Festival, choral singing acquires a broader social significance. Choirs from different regions of Latvia and Latvian communities abroad learn the same repertoire. The nationwide Song Festivals, held since 1873, transformed the choir into one of the most important public expressions of Latvian musical identity: thousands of individual voices merge into one collective sound.

WHEN A CHORAL WORK BECOMES A CULTURAL SYMBOL: “GAISMAS PILS”

A composition becomes a cultural symbol when it is performed by several generations, heard on important occasions, and acquires meanings extending beyond its role as a concert piece. A striking example is Jāzeps Vītols’s choral ballad “Gaismas pils” (“Castle of Light”), composed in 1899 to a poem by Auseklis, a poet of the Latvian national awakening. It is written for five voice parts: sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses divided into two groups. This arrangement strengthens the foundation of the lower voices and intensifies the work’s climax.

The poem tells of a castle submerged in the depths of a lake that will rise again and bring light to the people. The castle becomes a symbol of preserved memory, wisdom, and cultural rebirth. The music develops from restrained narration towards an increasingly powerful and luminous climax. The work was first performed in 1900 and gained particular prominence at the Fifth Latvian Song Festival in 1910. During the Soviet period, its national symbolism was not always acceptable to the authorities. At the 1985 festival, singers demanded that “Gaismas pils” be conducted by Haralds Mednis, and the performance became an act of cultural self-determination.

„PŪT, VĒJIŅI!“ – LIAUDIES DAINOS KELIAS Į DIDĮJĮ CHORĄ

The Latvian folk song “Pūt, vējiņi!” demonstrates how a traditional melody can be notated, arranged for choir, and transformed into a symbol of an entire community. An arrangement is the adaptation of an existing work for a different performing ensemble or sound world rather than the elimination of the earlier tradition.

Composer, conductor, and folklore researcher Andrejs Jurjāns prepared an arrangement of the Daugava boatmen’s song. In 1884, the melody was published in a collection for mixed choir with piano accompaniment. Jurjāns later created a four-part a cappella version for mixed choir. It became widely known at the Fifth Latvian Song Festival in 1910, when the massed choir was conducted by the arranger himself.

The arrangement retains the core of the folk melody while adding harmony and separate vocal parts. “Pūt, vējiņi!” was performed at later Song Festivals, at concerts by choirs in Latvia and the Latvian diaspora, and during the Soviet occupation it was at times perceived as a symbolic substitute for the Latvian national anthem. “Gaismas pils” is an original composition, whereas “Pūt, vējiņi!” entered the choral stage from the folk tradition. Both songs demonstrate that cultural significance is determined not only by the origin of a composition but also by who performs it, when, where, and why.

THE STAGE – WHEN MUSIC BECOMES ACTION

Opera transforms music into a staged narrative. Characters sing their emotions, while the orchestra can reveal what they do not express in words: fear, memory, conflict, or impending tragedy. The foundation of an opera is the libretto – the text that establishes the plot, characters, and their relationships. The composer writes the music for the soloists, choir, and orchestra; the director determines how the story will be presented; the conductor brings the performers together; and scenery, costumes, and lighting create the visual world.

Opera is a collective art form, even though the audience usually notices the soloists first. A choral song may develop a single poetic image within several minutes, whereas an opera is generally divided into acts and scenes, develops a dramatic conflict, and presents changing characters. The choir also becomes a dramatic participant in opera – a crowd, an army, festival participants, or a community.

RIGA, THE OPERA HOUSE, AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION

Opera requires a theatre, an orchestra, a permanent choir, rehearsal spaces, stage technology, and an audience. Its development is therefore also a history of institutions. The present building of the Latvian National Opera opened in 1863 as the Riga German Theatre. It was designed by Ludwig Bohnstedt and rebuilt after a fire in 1882. The building therefore existed before the independent Latvian state and before the establishment of the national opera institution.

In 1912, the “Latviešu Opera” began operating. Following the declaration of Latvia’s independence, the national opera became one of the institutions demonstrating the cultural maturity of the state. It presents international repertoire, provides opportunities to stage works by Latvian composers, and develops soloists, choir singers, orchestral musicians, and audiences. The National Opera is therefore both an artistic space and a guardian of cultural memory.

“BAŅUTA” – A SYMBOL OF THE MATURITY OF LATVIAN NATIONAL OPERA

The premiere of Alfrēds Kalniņš’s opera “Baņuta” on 29 May 1920 became one of the most important events in Latvian stage music. “Baņuta” is regarded as the first completed opera in the Latvian language to be staged and as the first Latvian national opera. It demonstrated that Latvian musical culture was capable of producing not only songs and short choral compositions but also a large-scale musical drama.

The road to its premiere began in 1903, when the Riga Latvian Society announced a competition for the libretto of the first Latvian opera. Participants were encouraged to seek subject matter in Latvian or Lithuanian history, legends, and fairy tales. In 1905, the only prize was awarded to Artūrs Krūmiņš’s libretto “Baņuta”, on which Alfrēds Kalniņš based his four-act opera. The action takes place in an artistic, mythologised world of the ancient Balts. The story of Baņuta, Daumants, Valgudis, Vižutis, and the other characters intertwines love, power, revenge, loyalty, duty, and personal choice. It is not an exact reconstruction of historical events but a culturally meaningful representation of the past.

The national character of an opera is not created solely through quotations of folk melodies. It can also be expressed through language, plot, symbols, the intentions of its creators, and the circumstances of performance. “Baņuta” combined a Latvian-language libretto, the need for a national stage, and the musical language of late Romanticism. The orchestra creates emotional tension, ensembles of soloists reveal relationships, and the choir embodies the community. During the same period, Jānis Mediņš was composing the opera “Uguns un nakts” based on a drama by Rainis, meaning that “Baņuta” formed part of the broader development of Latvian musical theatre.

THE KOKLE – AN INSTRUMENT WHOSE TIMBRE BECAME A CULTURAL SYMBOL

The kokle is a traditional Latvian plucked string instrument related to the Lithuanian kanklės, the Estonian kannel, and the Finnish kantele. The forms, names, and playing techniques of these instruments differ, but their relationship reflects longstanding cultural connections within the Baltic region.

A traditional kokle has a wooden body with strings stretched across it. It is held on the performer’s lap or placed on a table. The performer plucks the strings with the right hand while the fingers of the left hand mute the strings that are not needed at a given moment. In this way, a melody and harmonic background emerge from the overall resonance. The timbre of the kokle is often described as clear, gentle, and resonant, although variations in plucking force, rhythm, and string damping also allow for bright and lively playing.
Archaeological evidence makes it possible to trace the history of the kokle at least as far back as the thirteenth century. It has been mentioned in written sources since the seventeenth century, while the oldest Courland kokle preserved in the collection of the National History Museum of Latvia dates from 1710. This does not mean that the first kokle was made at that time, but it does demonstrate the instrument’s long history.

Different kokle forms and traditions developed in Courland and Latgale. Instruments may differ in body shape, ornamentation, number of strings, and sound, meaning that a national instrument does not have a single unchanging form. Some older traditions declined around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but the folklore movement of the 1970s and 1980s encouraged a revival. Today, the kokle can be heard as a solo instrument, in ensembles, at folklore events, at the Song and Dance Festival, and in contemporary projects representing a variety of genres.

FROM THE TRADITIONAL KOKLE TO THE CONCERT KOKLE

During the twentieth century, the concert kokle was developed, with more strings, a wider range, and mechanical devices allowing changes of key. It is usually mounted on legs, with the performer sitting beside it. This construction makes it possible to perform technically more demanding repertoire in a variety of keys.

The traditional and concert kokle should not be understood as “inferior” and “superior” versions of the same instrument. The traditional kokle is associated with regional heritage and older playing techniques, while the concert kokle has been adapted for music schools, ensembles, concert halls, and works by professional composers.

The kokle also entered the orchestral repertoire. Jēkabs Mediņš composed a concerto for kokle and symphony orchestra in 1952; Romualds Jermaks wrote a concerto for kokle and chamber orchestra in 1987; Ilze Akerberga composed “Dziesma un kokles dziedājums” in 1998; and Andris Vecumnieks wrote a concerto for kokle and orchestra in 1999. In his work “Altera veritas” (2005), the kokle is heard together with alto flute, accordion, and symphony orchestra. These works demonstrate that the kokle can function as a solo instrument, an equal partner of the orchestra, or one voice within an unusual instrumental ensemble.

WHEN THE KOKLE IS ABSENT, BUT ITS SOUND CAN STILL BE HEARD

A cultural symbol can also function when the instrument itself does not appear in a composition. In Pēteris Plakidis’s symphonic work “Dziedājums” (“Canto”, 1985), there is no kokle, yet two harps create an allusion to its sound through rhythm and timbre. The composer does not quote a specific folk melody – the reference is created through tone colour, the resonance of plucked strings, and a gentle dance pulse.

This example demonstrates that musical memory can be evoked not only through melody but also through timbre, rhythm, or performance style. Music can sound Latvian without directly quoting a folk song if the composer draws on culturally recognisable features. Such an allusion is nevertheless easier to recognise for a listener who has previously heard the kokle and understands its cultural significance.

STUDENT VIDEOS | LISTEN AND FILL IN THE MISSING WORDS

VIDEO 1 | DOMILIS LEGEIKA: THREE SYMBOLS OF LATVIAN MUSIC

VIDEO 2 | SIMONA LAURSEN: THE CHOIR AS THE CENTRE OF NATIONAL CULTURE

VIDEO 3 | GABIJA LIULYTĖ: “BAŅUTA” AND THE GREAT STAGE

VIDEO 4 | DOROTĖJA LINABURGYTĖ: THE SOUND OF THE KOKLE

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITY | CROSSWORD

Using the lesson text, solve the crossword. Read each definition and enter the appropriate concept, title of a work, or surname.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED TODAY?

ACTIVITY 1 | THREE SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS

ACTIVITY 2 | CHORAL MEMORY

ACTIVITY 3 | STAGE AND INSTRUMENT

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER?

• Latvian musical culture can be understood through three prominent symbols – the choir, the opera stage, and the kokle.
• A musical genre describes the type of a composition, whereas a cultural symbol reflects the historical and communal significance accumulated by a phenomenon.
• The sound of a mixed choir is usually created by soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts, while a cappella means singing without instrumental accompaniment.
• Jāzeps Vītols’s “Gaismas pils” was composed in 1899 to a text by Auseklis and became one of the most important works of Latvian choral culture.
• Andrejs Jurjāns’s arrangement of “Pūt, vējiņi!” demonstrates how a folk melody can become part of professional choral repertoire and national memory.
• Opera combines the libretto, singing by soloists and choir, orchestra, acting, and the visual elements of the stage into a unified musical narrative.
• Alfrēds Kalniņš’s “Baņuta”, which premiered on 29 May 1920, is regarded as the first Latvian national opera to be staged.
• The kokle is a traditional Latvian string instrument related to the Lithuanian kanklės, but today it can also be heard in professional music.
• The traditional and concert kokle perform different functions: the former is more closely associated with regional heritage, while the latter is adapted to a broader concert repertoire.
• A musical tradition can be recognised not only through melody: it can also be evoked through timbre, rhythm, performance style, or musical allusion.

END-OF-LESSON REFLECTION

Complete the three sentences:

• In Latvia, the choir is more than an ensemble of singers because…
• Opera turns music into a staged narrative when…
• The kokle remains a living symbol of Latvian culture because…

SOURCES USED