Latvian Voices in Washington, DC
We went to a concert as part of the Serenade festival put on by a music ensemble tour promotor that had a mix of choral groups, including two children's choirs, an a capella quartet, a Polish mixed voices choir. The stand out revelatory sound was that of Latvian Voices. The seven women had well trained voices that joined fluidly, especially in the acoustic of the Church of the Epiphany downtown near Metro Center. The Post review was similarly impressed by the Voices, though a little smarmy about the a capella quartet.
Most of their repertoire was in Latvian, arranged by a member of the group. The demonstrated great affinity for the music, letting the solo lines soar of the lush chords of the ensemble. They reminded me a little of the Bulgarian Women's Choirs that were popular 20 years ago, but this group's sound was more polished and clean.
They did an arrangement of the Elizabethan madrigal All Creatures Now are Merry Minded by John Bennet which worked nicely, even though it was rearranged from SSATB in the original. They did a cool arrangement of a song by Seal, though I wish they had microphones as the soloist was sometimes drowned out. Their performances available on Youtube show they do pop songs well with microphones.
Their arrangement of the Prelude in C minor by J.S. Bach was the big hit of the night, pretty good considering one of the children's choirs sang Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb. The closing cadenzas of the Bach were performed and choreographed as an discussion between singers and the final chord's Picardy third was urged by the women from one of their comrades. It can be viewed here. Their encore of the old doo-wop standard Stand By Me was also a delight.
They are evidently making a big splash in the choral festivals in Europe. They haven't made it to North America much before. I hope they come back to DC soon. In the mean time, their youtube videos uploaded from festivals in Europe by one of their members (you can find them with the video above) will have to do. Try them out, they're super.
Most of their repertoire was in Latvian, arranged by a member of the group. The demonstrated great affinity for the music, letting the solo lines soar of the lush chords of the ensemble. They reminded me a little of the Bulgarian Women's Choirs that were popular 20 years ago, but this group's sound was more polished and clean.
They did an arrangement of the Elizabethan madrigal All Creatures Now are Merry Minded by John Bennet which worked nicely, even though it was rearranged from SSATB in the original. They did a cool arrangement of a song by Seal, though I wish they had microphones as the soloist was sometimes drowned out. Their performances available on Youtube show they do pop songs well with microphones.
Their arrangement of the Prelude in C minor by J.S. Bach was the big hit of the night, pretty good considering one of the children's choirs sang Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb. The closing cadenzas of the Bach were performed and choreographed as an discussion between singers and the final chord's Picardy third was urged by the women from one of their comrades. It can be viewed here. Their encore of the old doo-wop standard Stand By Me was also a delight.
They are evidently making a big splash in the choral festivals in Europe. They haven't made it to North America much before. I hope they come back to DC soon. In the mean time, their youtube videos uploaded from festivals in Europe by one of their members (you can find them with the video above) will have to do. Try them out, they're super.
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