Latvian Radio Choir to give two exhilarating concerts in Brussels

At the first concert, the Latvian Radio Choir will perform an emotional and topical interpretation of a historical work – the film Lāčplēsis (1930) by Aleksandrs Rusteiķis – using contemporary choral music, vocal art and electronic music as the means of expression.

Lilita Bērziņa in the film "Lāčplēsis" (Bearslayer, 1930, dir. Aleksandrs Rusteiķis). Courtesy of LAC Riga Film Museum

The soundtrack will be composed of two parallel layers: it preserves the film’s original music, incorporating the most outstanding examples of Latvian choral music from the first part of the 20th century, but at the same time uses contemporary vocal music to respect and accentuate the drama and style of the film. The project features fragments of works by various Latvian composers. The choir will be accompanied by the double bass player Kristaps Pētersons.

Two of the most original interpreters of contemporary music – the BL!NDMAN saxophone quartet from Belgium and the Latvian Radio Choir – will come together at the second concert. In February this year, they already shared a stage in Riga. In both cases, their daily concert life is characterised by the search for novel combinations of sound and for new creative friends. The artistic director of the quartet, Eric Sleichim, will also take part in the concert.

Eric Sleichim & BL!NDMAN [sax]. © Guy Kokken, 2013

The concert will feature the premiere of the composition Das Selige Stillschweigen (Holy silence) by Latvian composer Jēkabs Nīmanis. The programme will also include works by Jonathan Harvey, Orlando Di Lasso, Anders Hillborg, Pierre Bartholomée, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Both concerts are part of the Latvian EU Council Presidency cultural programme which has modernity, uniqueness and excellence as its core values. The programme consists of almost 200 events worldwide.