Musica Baltica Publishes Roberts Liede’s Collection of Pieces for Choir (12/04/2022)
In partnership with the Latvian Composers’ Union, publisher Musica Baltica has released Pieces for Choir, a collection of works by Roberts Liede.
Previously published works of Liede (1967-2006) include the collections Songs for Children, Songs for Voice and Piano, and Pieces for Piano. Now joining them is Pieces for Choir, a collection which includes songs for women’s, men’s and mixed choir. The pieces are mainly a cappella, with the exception of three miniatures accompanied by piano. The texts used include those written by both classic Latvian poets — Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš, Vilis Plūdons, Jānis Poruks, Ojārs Vācietis — as well as lesser-known Latvian poets. The pieces deal with the themes of love, nature, homeland and God. Alongside Latvian poetry, the composer has also used sacred Latin texts.
In the introduction to the book, choir conductor Ieva Apsīte writes: “his songs for men’s choir excel with their patriotism and love of Latvia, without unnecessarily complicating the melody or the rhythm. However, it seems as though the composer put more love into his songs for women’s choir. (..) The true gems in this collection are his Agnus Dei, Miserere and Laudate Dominum for women’s choir, where the sopranos sound like bright violins, and the altos are like rich cellos. In the expressive and calm Ticība, which uses the poetry of Leons Breikšs, the composer reflects the words precisely through his music. Equally, the simple yet melodically beautiful Ave Maria (for mixed choir) will hold a stable spot in choral repertoire.”
The collection has been published with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation.