Ieva Parša & Andrejs Osokins - Melngailis: And a Birch and Grasses... (2022) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

People sometimes chuckle at the fact that Emilis Melngailis and Arnold Schoenberg were both born in the same year, 1874 – just think, the apologist for ancient folk-song diatonics and the founder of twelvetone technique as peers! But one must understand that Melngailis belonged to those relatively few for whom art expresses not so much humanity's strained relationship with reality but rather serves as a reflection of the ultimate harmony, beauty and magnificence of nature and the world around us.

Almost a century and a half younger than Melngailis, the avantgarde composer Kristaps Pētersons, who has written numerous chamber and symphonic works and won several national and international awards, is also, paradoxically, in some ways related to Melngailis, namely, in his applied, constructive approach to creativity and, above all, in not shying away from prosaic themes in music.

Dramatic saturation, exquisite musical imagination, a developed sense of style – with these vocal qualities Parša has attracted the attention of many Latvian composers, who have in turn dedicated compositions to her. Emilis Melngailis is one of Parša’s favourite Latvian classical composers.

Andrejs Osokins has a wide stylistic range and is as perceptive of and attentive to the specifics of Latvian music as he is to those of world classics.

On this subject, he made a significant statement: quot;The first artist is Nature herself. In every snowflake she shoots forth her divine pattern. In infinite richness she has formed the scales of fishes, the slickness of snails, the colours of crystals, the flowers of the land. The observant eye perceives it, transposes it and creates the pattern of its own genus. quot;…Almost a century and a half younger than Melngailis, the avantgarde composer Kristaps Petersons, who has written numerous chamber and symphonic works and won several national and international awards, is also, paradoxically, in some ways related to Melngailis, namely, in his applied, constructive approach to creativity and, above all, in not shying away from prosaic themes in music. The most striking example in this respect is Mikhail and Mikhail Play Chess (2008), his opera about the battles between world champions Mikhail Tal and Mikhail Botvinnik at the chess board…Opera and concert singer Ieva Parsa has earned diplomas in choral conducting and pedagogy, but she is at her best in chamber music. While equally successful in interpreting the classics and 20th-century music, she is most sovereign and in demand when it comes to contemporary and experimental vocal art, even winning the Latvian Music Award for her work in these genres. Dramatic saturation, exquisite musical imagination, a developed sense of style – with these vocal qualities Parša has attracted the attention of many Latvian composers, who have in turn dedicated compositions to her. Emilis Melngailis is one of Parsa's favourite Latvian classical composers. Andrejs Osokins is an exceptional concert pianist and ensemble player. He regularly performs with the most prestigious symphony orchestras and conductors in Europe and has won more than ten international piano competitions in ten years. He has a wide stylistic range and is as perceptive of and attentive to the specifics of Latvian music as he is to those of world classics.

Tracklist:
1. Ieva Parša – Nebij mēnesnīcas, nebij ziedu (02:07)
2. Ieva Parša – Kā zagšus (02:06)
3. Ieva Parša – Ganiņš (01:55)
4. Ieva Parša – Jaunā gaisma (01:45)
5. Ieva Parša – Pirmais marts (03:15)
6. Andrejs Osokins – Mūzika klavierēm (09:01)
7. Ieva Parša – Pasaciņa (02:04)
8. Ieva Parša – Pār ceļu zaķītis pārskrēja (01:30)
9. Ieva Parša – Uz rīta pusi (01:56)
10. Ieva Parša – Zeltītas lapas (03:09)
11. Ieva Parša – Dziesma ar Eduarda Veidenbauma dzeju (03:06)
12. Ieva Parša – Man mirdzēja zvaigzne (01:42)
13. Ieva Parša – Kā diena bez saules (02:59)
14. Andrejs Osokins – Vientulība no cikla klavierēm Mazie meti (03:24)
15. Ieva Parša – Smilgas (08:03)
16. Ieva Parša – Rauduves balss (02:27)
17. Ieva Parša – Bērzs i varavīksna (02:20)
18. Ieva Parša – Divas mazas rociņas (02:30)
19. Ieva Parša – Alpu kvēles (01:05)


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