Dona Nobis Pacem from Venezuela to Russia


Swings and roundabouts day. Elsewhere an interesting and topical thread that leads from Hugo Chávez and Gustavo Dudamel to Vladimir Putin and Valery Gergiev. Could we be coming at the same problem from different directions? Or should Gergiev spend more time rehearsing and less time politicking? While a thoughtful comment on a related Overgrown Path takes us to a music blog that is new to me, and has some interesting things to say.

The challenges facing the new nations of the former-Soviet Union have featured here frequently, and a year ago I wrote about the music of the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Recently I have been very moved by a new Ondine CD of his choral music sung by the Latvian Radio Choir with the Sinfonietta Riga directed by Sigvards Klava (header image). Vasks' music has never been inaccessible; but this new release is particularly approachable, and should appeal both to contemporary music aficionados and to those whose interest is great sacred music across the centuries.

And more musical engagement with the former Soviet Union here.
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