Media release

In #mindpower, British composer Gabriel Jackson helps distributing Aspazija’s poems

27 March 2015

Pedestrians in London are used to people handing out flyers, but they received a surprise one day when one of the United Kingdom’s most renowned composers, Gabriel Jackson, went around distributing excerpts from the Latvian poetess Aspazija’s works. Thus was born the latest episode of the #mindpower project.

In the 12th episode of the #mindpower short film project, the British composer Gabriel Jackson and Latvian singer Goran Gora, who impersonates the poet Rainis, interpret the poem Three Lessons from the Twilight of the Soul (1904) poetry collection by Aspazija. Although the overall mood of this collection is melancholic and resigned, this poem has a positive message about the need to rise above ordinariness with a clear soul.

For more than 10 years now, Gabriel Jackson's creative work has been evolving in close connection with Latvia. He visited Riga for the first time at the invitation of the Riga piano duo of Nora Novika and Rafi Haradžanjans. Soon afterwards he began a fruitful cooperation and friendship with the Riga Saxophone Quartet, the State Choir Latvija, the Latvian Radio Choir and the Youth choir Kamēr…, as well as with the Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.

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Shooting of the #mindpower episode. Photo: Jura Podnieka studija

In interviews, Gabriel Jackson often admits to his love of the sound of Latvian choirs with its deep intensity, particular colour and warmth and complete devotion to music. He is happy to tell the whole world about this musical phenomenon.

“I love the Latvian sound in my compositions,” says Gabriel Jackson.

Gabriel Jackson (1962) is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, a three-time winner of the British Composer Award and a former associate composer with the legendary BBC Singers. His music has been performed throughout Europe and the USA and is recorded more and more often, with over 60 works available on CD. Jackson's work includes a significant body of organ compositions, piano and other instrumental works, but he is best known for his vocal music which is characterised by its emphasis on optimism and a tendency to look towards Heaven.

In 2013, the album A Ship with unfurled sails was released in the United Kingdom. In the recording, the State Choir Latvija under the direction of Māris Sirmais performs 13 vocal compositions by Gabriel Jackson. Last year, the Amber Songs album by the Youth choir Kamēr… featured his arrangement of the Latvian folksong Neviens putnis tā nepūta (No Bird Sings as Nicely).

The #mindpower (#domasspēks in Latvian) project is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Latvian poets Rainis and Aspazija. It features a collection of 29 short films in which celebrities from all the EU Member States read excerpts from the works of Rainis and Aspazija in their native language and clothe them in images of their culture. The project is a part of the Presidency cultural programme.

Each week a new video is released on the Presidency’s website EU2015.LV. You can also watch the episodes on the Presidency’s official Youtube channel and on the project's Facebook page.

Contact
Linda Jākobsone
Head of Presidency Communications and Public Relations Department