Imants Kalnins’ song “Holiday” – a dedication to love / Article

“The path of the song. ImKa ”

In anticipation of the 80th anniversary of composer Imants Kalniņš, LTV offers stories for eleven favorite songs of the composer. Memories are shared, significant events and legends are revealed by the composer’s family, friends and like-minded people.

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The collaboration of composer Imants Kalniņš with the singer Olga Rajeckas began after they met during the making of Roze Stiebra’s cartoon “Bear of Happiness”. The composer invited Rajeckas to join the “Turaida Rose”, and in the spring of 1986 the first concert of the band’s second ensemble took place. The sound was also complemented by guitarist Aivars Gudrais, whose guitar solo became the band’s business card.

Imants Kalnins wrote a number of new songs for Olga Rajecka’s voice: “Holiday”, “Ballad about you in the clouds”, “Wolf song” and others.

A song for first love

The singer says: “We drove after the concert on a dusty road, at the wheel of a yellow Ziguli there was my first husband Igors Miglinieks, ImKa was sitting in the back and humming until he said:

“Little children, I wrote you a song.” And it was a “holiday.”

It’s a song for my first love. “

Imants Kalniņš confirms that he really wrote this song to Olga and Igor as a dedication after one of Imantdays.

The second half of the 1980s was a triumphant march for Turaida Rose. Olga Rajecka claims that she has never experienced such a love of the people as in the times of “Turaida Rozes” 35 years ago – the concerts were crowded and the hits “Holiday” and “Wrap Hands” had to be sung several times each concert.

In 1987, Olga Rajecka won the 2nd place in the All-Union competition “Jūrmala 87” and also the audience award for the song “Holiday”. That year, “Turaidas Roze” also went on tour in Russia, but a year later, in a survey of readers of the Russian newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, Olga Rajecka was recognized as the most popular singer in the entire USSR.

“I received 2 million telegrams from all over the USSR, at that time the audience voted for ‘Holiday’,” says the singer.

“Yes, it is Olga’s song,” confirms her stage partner Uģis Roze. When Olga had an anniversary concert at the Latvian National Opera, I went on stage in the finals and joined her in the performance of the Holiday, even as I sang in a falsetto. Since then, we have used to perform this song in concerts in addition to the duo. ”

Whole life is a holiday

Shortly before his 80th anniversary, composer Imants Kalnins, asked what his holiday is, notes: “Holiday is a given opportunity to see what the land is, what people are, all my life is a holiday for me!”

The composer’s spouse Agra agrees with this statement, saying: “For us, the holiday is definitely not every, but every other day. The holiday is our 5th of September, all birthdays. There is always music around us and I hear, see, feel.

When ImKiņa became again intermediary, when something new is created, I remain silent and wait, because I know that I will be the first to hear.

I get tears from my emotion when he plays, plays for me first! ”

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