Gundega Smite, Ensemble Arcandela
Release Date: 23 April 2021
Label: Skani
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 4751025440635
Genres: Classical Contemporary Classical
Description
The dainas (Latvian folksong) chamber mystery "Es, kara aiziedams..." (As I go off to war…) is a story about the soul's battle – about the soldier's courage to leave and the woman's strength in letting him go towards the unknown.
I have interwoven an unanswered, and perhaps unanswerable, question in this story, namely, who of us is prepared to risk our life and happiness in the name of a larger idea? As the rich heritage of Latvian folk poetry confirms, such a thought has preoccupied Latvians for centuries. These countless verses express the human frailties that surface when a young man is called to war. A woman stands next to him, be it a mother, sister or bride, and reacts bitterly to his departure and absence.
"As I go off to war…" does not provide an answer to whether it is worth sacrificing one's life to the war machine. It does not glorify heroism; on the contrary, it reveals the fragile internal world of humans that is destroyed in war. Through my music and the poetic language of the dainas I have aspired to express a poignantly human and undoubtedly pacifist message. The musical frame centering on the mythical blacksmith's wife points to the cyclical and ever-renewing nature of war. Will a new era arrive, in which we look back at the horrors of war as a thing of the past that the strength of the human spirit has defeated?
"As I go off to war…" is a cyclical composition in ten parts that follows the path of a soldier: farewells, absence, return. The first and last parts serve as a seemingly timeless introduction and postlude. The structure of the cycle is linked together by four electronic interludes that act as transitions to each next stage. The music reflects the unique style of the Arcandela ensemble, which performs a fusion of folk, jazz and classical music. The dainas texts inspired me to create an acoustic world in which I strived to bring together an archaic and contemporary palette of sound.
"As I go off to war…" is dedicated to the souls that have been and continue to be extinguished by senseless war. It provides solace to hearts broken while waiting for sons, brothers, husbands to return but never meeting them again. The core of human strength expressed in Latvian folk poetry lives across time, space and nationality. - Composer Gundega Smite
Tracklisting
Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava
Various Artists
Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Guntis Kuzma
Ilze Reinis & Aigars Reinis
Sophia Kirsanova
Robert Fleitz
Liga Priede, Andrejs Grimms
Atomos Saxophone Quartet
Tomasz Skweres, Ensemble Reconsil, Osterreichisches Ensemble fur Neue Musik, Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej
Jean-Marie Machado & Danzas Orchestra
Eric Lamb, Stefanie Alexandra Prenn, Angela Calvo Rios, Kaoko Amano, Veronica Klavzar
Kari Beate Tandberg
SWR Vokalensemble, IRCAM, Yuval Weinberg
Marco Fusi
Klangforum Wien, Johannes Kalitzke, Bas Wiegers, Alessandro Baticci, Rafal Zalech
Sofia Burgos, Sofia Jernberg, Zwerm
