WATCH & LISTEN: Latvian Dainas reinterpreted at the Berlin Philharmonic

They were performed by Latvian singer Katrīna Paula Felsberga and the contemporary music ensemble "Zafraan" under the baton of conductor Miguel Pérez Iniesta in November.

Katrīna Paula Felsberga told LSM.lv: "Everyone has perceived the dainas very differently, and I think it would be valuable to perform these compositions in Latvia as well."

"I was trying to figure out how to make my concert special. And, like many people these days, I looked for my first ideas on the Internet," says the conductor. It didn't take long for his Internet searches to lead him to the story of Krišjānis Baronis and the Dainu Skapis. "I found it all very exciting! Then I also found out that Barons and [Luciano] Berio have birthdays only a few days apart, and both are celebrating anniversaries this year," says Miguel Pérez Iniesta. 

Over time, the conductor has come up with a clear concept for the concert – to combine Luciano Berio's famous "Folk Songs", which number 11 in total, with 11 new miniatures based on Latvian folk songs. "I thought for a long time whether to invite Latvian composers to the project, or to specifically focus on people who are unfamiliar with Latvian culture," says Miguel Pérez Iniesta. In the end, the choice fell in favor of foreign composers. "To have a completely "blank slate" and to make it easier to go outside the box," the conductor says. 

Latvian folk song miniatures were created by composers from Hungary, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Turkey and other countries. "Each of them was sent 50 folk songs on various topics, including translations of songs into English by Ieva Auzina Sentivanī. And then many asked me to record how they sound in the original language. Most composers created their compositions based on phonetics, because they found it very interesting how the Latvian language sounds. But many were also inspired by the general mood of the text or created an interplay with something familiar to their culture," says Katrīna Paula Felsberga and believes that the result turned out to be quite interesting. 

While we await a future live performance in one of the Latvian concert halls, this recording of it is freely available to everyone. Enjoy!