The Tradition and Future of Men’s Choirs in Latvia: Insights from Conductors and Members

It is Monday evening, the rehearsal of the men’s choir “Staburags” of the Aizkraukle cultural center. The men sing and prepare for the choir show. As the artistic director and chief conductor of the choir, Māra Batraga, admits, it is not worth getting together more often, because it is difficult for working men to attend rehearsals. In the past, before the Song Festival, they held a choir camp for a week, but now they can’t do anything like that anymore. Because of work, not everyone even goes to the holidays.

Batraga has been working with the “Staburaga” singers for 47 years. “Why have the men’s choir songs connected me? My parents met at the Song Festival, and my father was very close to the men’s choir songs. That’s the men’s choir… I came for one season, and it turned out that I should continue the second one as well,” she recalls.

Choirs Aigars Indersons and Māris Masāns have inherited singing in “Staburaga” from their fathers. In the anniversary book dedicated to the choir, Inderson shows his father, while Masāns found a colleague in the photo, with whom he started singing in the choir. “We were still boys. One day, it was the beginning of the 1985 season, they took us by the scruff of the neck, brought us here and told us to sing. What can you say in return at the age of 14? They told us that we had to come, so we had to come,” laughing says Massan. He adds that his father’s stories about that year’s Song Festival inspired him, but now he himself cannot persuade his children to sing.

Some consider 1967, others – 1968, as the founding year of the men’s choir “Staburags”.

Arvīds Bērziņš has been singing in the choir since 1968 and has not missed a single season. He drives from Jēkabpils to choir rehearsals, measuring the 38-kilometer road each time.

Juris Vanags joins the conversation, who also has rich singing experience in a men’s choir. “The song puts you in a good mood, a different life immediately, you can live with such joy. Work also goes better immediately,” he emphasizes. “The team is very good, the conductors are very good. We have not had bad conductors. The first conductor was Ausma Moritz, now there is Māra Batraga and Ainars Mēnes. He is demanding, trains our voices, warms us up before singing.”

Conductor Ainars Mēnes is also demanding towards the organizers of the festival. According to him, something must change, one must go with the times: “There is a very nice sincerity, because you are further from the capital, from the so-called center, where it is like the cream of the crop, where it seems that everyone can do everything, is powerful. Here are the countryside , a man leaves his scythe, his scythe, and comes to sing because he is happy to be together. It is a very difficult situation in general these days. We are abandoned to the power of fate. The men’s choirs have done more than ever in this Festival of Songs – the men’s choir elders have to learn all the songs of mixed choirs. Why? Because there aren’t enough men. Then support, do something! Maybe one song is written for men’s choirs every three years, [un to pašu] with torments and prayers.

The men’s choir movement is historically the first. Then please write songs! Give men songs that keep them interested!”

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The composition of the choir is no longer as large as in the 80s. Now there are 32 choir singers on the list, but in reality there are even fewer. Aleksandrs Dudeničs sings in the choir for the first year. His example shows that it is possible. The idea of ​​singing in the choir came to Dudenić during the last Song Festival, but there was another reason: “I have two wonderful children growing up, who are already in various groups – folk dances, music school and others. I had the idea that we as parents should set an example for the children . I think that when they grow up, they will begin to ask: “Why do we do this and that, go to clubs, but you, the parents, do nothing yourself? I knew that we have a mixed choir in Aizkraukle and a men’s choir “Staburags”. I immediately decided to myself that I should try to compete in the men’s choir. “Staburag” is a word, the choir is quite old. I myself looked for contacts and information on the Internet when they have rehearsals. I contacted the manager Mara, expressed my desire, and she invited me to a rehearsal. So I continue. I also like the team, everyone is friendly, cool, warm, responsive.

Singing is like a meditative process. After the rehearsal, I always go with joy, with peace, uplifted. It’s an indescribably cool feeling.”

A tradition that has its roots in the 19th century

The origins of the song festival can be traced back to Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the first half of the 19th century. Also in the Baltic cities in the German-Baltic environment in the 1930s-50s. amateur singing groups are founded in the 1960s. An important event in the cultural life of Riga is the Daugava Music Festival. Pastor and writer Juris Neikens took over the idea of ​​the Vācbaltu song festival and in 1864 organized the first joint concert of Latvian men’s choirs in Dikļi.

Music historian Dzintars Gilba knows how to tell about the beginnings of men’s choirs:

“According to sources, there were 120 singers – men’s choirs from six parishes – at the Dikļu festival in 1864 (the first Latvian festival to be counted).

It should be remembered that in Diklia, on the morning of the same day, before the husband’s day, there is also a school day’s day. The beginnings of the schoolchildren’s singing festival are also in Diklia.” Gilba continues the story: “Why were there mostly men’s choirs in the beginning? This is a German tradition. That’s one. The second is also the repertoire. Let’s say, the majority of parts of Cimze’s “Dziesmu rota” are for the male choir. The first two parts – “Garden flowers” and “Field flowers” – which were published in 1872, are for a male choir. “Songs adorn” are songs that everyone now knows and sings in a mixed choir, but the beginning is a men’s choir.” The historian also recalls the men’s choir of the Baltic Teachers’ Seminary, which premiered the song “God, bless Latvia!” at the opening ceremony of the First General Singing Festival. .

Dzintars Gilba mentions that the First Latvian Men’s Choir Society “Dziedonis” was founded in 1924 with “branches” or choirs in Riga and Liepāja. Later, the number of “Songs” increased. Haralds Mednis and Imants Kokars once associated their name with this men’s choir. Here we have to talk about the most direct change of generations, because now the men’s choir of the University of Latvia “Dziedonis” is led and conducted by Uldis Kokars.

The picture of Riga is hopeful

In the conversation about men’s choirs and tradition, Ivars Cinkus, artistic director and conductor of the men’s choir “Gaudeamus” of the Riga Technical University, has his say. Since 2003, he has also been the chief conductor of the Riga Men’s Choirs, as well as the chief conductor of the General Latvian Song Festival. Cinkus once took over the management of “Gaudeamus” from his teacher, conductor Edgars Racevskas. If there is a difference between the two approaches, Cinkuss believes that Račevskis was more oriented towards traditional musical values, towards Latvian music, but he tried more to open the world music breath in the choir.

At this year’s festival, Ivars Cinkuss will conduct “Dzied zimu, zidit augu” in the arrangement of Alfred Kalniņas and “There will be a song forever” by Valter Kaminskis, which he says he took over from his late teacher. “There are songs that stick to conductors until they pass away. I see that “There will be a song forever” will now be my song until I pass away,” Cinkus says with a smile. This song, with the words of Imantas Ziedonis, was written for Edgar Račevski and the men’s choir “Gaudeamus”. Since 1977, it has always been included in the Song Festival program, and no one doubts that it should be played.

When asked about the overall picture and future of men’s choirs, Cinkus says: “As with any choir, not only men’s choirs – if there is a creative leader in front, then the choir will not sink. If the conductor does not know what he wants to do or is a parasite on some old things, then the choir will break up. I don’t even need to draw such general pictures, because the situations from Daugavpils to Ventspils are different, different. Of course, Riga has more than a third of all men’s choirs in Latvia, and that image of Riga is essential. I can say that about Riga, because I lead the joint rehearsal. Riga is very hopeful, Riga is not sinking,

The collective choir of Riga men’s choirs is sonorous and of high quality. I would even say – better quality than five or ten years ago.”