Culture event

"Nordic Light" concert


Venue
Latvian National Opera House
Aspazijas bulvāris 3, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia
Event dates
April 27 19:00 - 20:00 EET

Last updated on 27 April 2015, 19.24

Due to recording of the Nordic Light concert by Latvian Television and Latvian Radio the audience is invited to arrive well in advance!

With:
State Choir Latvija
Liepāja Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Māris Sirmais

The State Choir Latvija led by conductor Māris Sirmais will take you on a journey in which the jewels of the Baltics meet the magic of the Northern Lights in a two-part concert. The concert will feature excellent a capella choir music, as well as the premiere of the multimedia symphony Nordic Light by Ēriks Ešenvalds.

This outstanding 40-minute long symphony is a masterpiece devoted to the atmospheric optical phenomenon of the Northern Lights. It is a unique piece created with significant value added in terms of cultural heritage. Ēriks Ešenvalds went on several expeditions to northern Norway to meet his partner in this project – the Norwegian, Kjetil Skogli, a professional Northern Lights photographer and video maker. He also visited Iceland, Greenland, Finland and northern Alaska (USA). While there, he recorded sounds from nature (whales breathing in the fjords, frost cracking the bark of trees, gales and howling dogs) and tales and folksongs about the Northern Lights as told by the Nordic nations. All of these materials will be used while the symphony is performed.

What is the sound of the Northern Lights? Scientists believe that they have no sound, but through unique stories, the beauty of nature and breath-taking photographs and videos, Ēriks Ešenvalds gives them a voice.

Ēriks Ešenvalds (1977) is one of the best-known Latvian composers, and the author of both vocal and instrumental music, three cantatas and one opera. In 2011, he was awarded the two-year position of Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge. Ešenvalds is a two-time winner of Latvia's most prestigious musical award – the Grand Music Award.

Eriks_Esenvalds

Tickets are available at the box offices and on the website of Biļešu Paradīze.