Latvian Radio Choir

Andrejs Selickis (b. 1960) is a singular, idiosyncratic phenomenon among Latvian composers. As with Arvo Pärt, Selickis’ work is inseparably linked to his faith, which has found a deep and unique expression in his distinct style. Iconic symbolism, sacred archetypes and the ecstatic experience of God’s presence are the keys to his music. This new recording by the Latvian Radio Choir includes choral works by Selickis. Conductor Sigvards Klava has enjoyed friendship and artistic collaboration with the giving premieres to several of his most important vocal works.

Ondine is proud to release its 17th album together with the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava dedicated to a cappella words by Anton Brucker. Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is known as one of the greatest of 19th century symphonists. Yet, also choral music formed an integral part of the composer’s output. This album includes a selection of smaller choral works written between the years 1848 and 1892. Many of these works were long forgotten. Yet after a long stretch on the periphery of the choral world, Bruckner’s motets have now finally returned to a broader consciousness. Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is known as one of the greatest of 19th century symphonists.

This new album release by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava on Ondine is devoted to choral works by the legendary American composer and music pioneer John Cage (1912-1992), one of the most iconic figures in 20th Century Avantgarde music.

Latvian Radio Choir’s new album conducted by Sigvards Kļava marks the international debut of composer Alfred Momotenko (b. 1970). Momotenko was born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1970. He studied at the Sochi College of Arts and later percussion at the Moscow State University of Culture and Art. In 1990, the political situation having changed, Momotenko moved to the Netherlands where he continued his studies at the Brabant Conservatory and at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. Momotenko’s timeless choral works continue the centuries old great tradition of choral works combining them with contemporary language, a blend most recently exemplified by the likes of Alfred Schnittke.

Latvian Radio Choir's new album conducted by Sigvards Klava marks the international debut of composer Alfred Momotenko (b. 1970). Momotenko was born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1970. He studied at the Sochi College of Arts and later percussion at the Moscow State University of Culture and Art. In 1990, the political situation having changed, Momotenko moved to the Netherlands where he continued his studies at the Brabant Conservatory and at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. Momotenko's timeless choral works continue the centuries old great tradition of choral works combining them with contemporary language, a blend most recently exemplified by the likes of Alfred Schnittke. Surrounded by choral music in his youth, Momotenko has returned to the world of choral music at a relatively late period: all the works on this album have been written between 2017 and 2022. Many of his enigmatic choral works are religious and could be described as poems or chants - larger than a miniature but less extensive than a fantasy, a narrative, a ballad or a story. Often there are two contrasting musical languages that are present: the ancient, pristine Znamennyj Chant and the modern one. Besides liturgic texts, Momotenko's choral works include settings to poems by Boris Pasternak and Joseph Brodsky. The largest work, Na Strastnoy (On the Passion), is a companion piece Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil.

Georgy Sviridov, a leading composer of the late Soviet era in Russia, wrote a good deal of religious music, influenced by the Russian Orthodox legacy and by sacred works. The last years of Soviet rule saw a relaxation of official atheism, and these works earned Sviridov critical acclaim. Indeed, Sviridov greeted the Perestroika era and the impending fall of the Soviet Union with trepidation, and annotator Alexander Belonenko does well to compare the music here to Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, written in 1915 in a similar period of instability. (The Red Easter, however, refers not to Communism but to texts printed in red in an Orthodox liturgy.) Sviridov's a cappella sacred music has a different effect than Rachmaninov's; he uses less of the sub-bass sounds of the Russian tradition.

This new album by the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Kļava – recently hailed by the New York Times as ‘astonishing’, ‘superlative’ by the BBC Music Magazine, and ‘perhaps the finest chorus singing today’ by NPR – is focused on the sacred choral works by one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847).

With this new release the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir together with its director Sigvards Kļava are returning to contemporary music after a series of recordings of 19th Century sacred choral works. Ramon Humet’s (b. 1968) new choral work, 'Llum', is a deep, spiritual journey to the gift of life, peace and love.