In the concert of the cycle of sacred chants, you can expect an encounter with the choral music of Swedish, English, Ukrainian and Latvian composers of the Renaissance and 21st century.

Missa Salve by the Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Lui de Victoria embodies the golden age of vocal polyphony of the 16th century with its enlightened beauty, the purity of the soundtrack, and the supple harmony of the double choir.

The English composer, well-known Gramaphone reviewer Ivens Mūdijs, before his death in early 2024, wrote the Lord’s Prayer “Babbu nostru” in Sardinian language especially for the Latvian Radio Choir, which will be premiered at the concert. As a priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and a disciple of John Tavener, he drew inspiration from the chants of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The work of Swedish composer Brita Bystrem is described as “sparkling” and “obviously beautiful”, with “a sensitive resonance of sound and richness of overtones”. The choir’s work “To måner” (“Two months”) was created as a tribute to the Danish composer Per Nergord on his 90th anniversary, reflecting on themes close to Nergord’s musical world – dreams, companions and clues.

Ukrainian composer Viktoria Poleva has been commissioned by leading contemporary music performers, including Gidon Kremer and the Kronos Quartet. Since the end of the 90s of the 20th century, the composer focused on the new simplicity, in-depth studies of sacred texts and their embodiment in music, as can be heard in the choral miniatures “Today the Virgin” and “Mother of God”.

The concert will also feature a new work by Rolandas Kronlaks – a driving force of Latvian contemporary music, head of the Latvian Composers’ Union and music festivals, whose interests include electronic music and post-serialism.