On the first day of Advent, November 30, at 19:00, the Riga Orchestra invites the residents of Riga and guests of the city to the concert 'Meditations', where under the direction of conductor Kaspars Adamsons, a selection of the most beautiful slow works by contemporary Latvian and foreign composers will be performed in an atmosphere of bright pre-holiday anticipation.
At the conductor's podium of the Riga Orchestra for the concert on the first day of Advent will be the artistic director and chief conductor of the mixed choir 'Sōla' of the Latvian Academy of Culture, Kaspars Adamsons, with whom the orchestra has successfully collaborated both in performances together with the 'Sōla' choir and in the orchestra's programs in the 'Summer Classics' cycle, at concerts for national holidays and memorial days. Inviting the conductor for a renewed collaboration in the 'Meditations' concert, the program includes works by contemporary American and Latvian composers, united by a sense of the unhurried flow of time and a special relationship to the phenomenon of silence in music. The idea of the concert's title is based on the opus 'Meditation' (2018) by American composer Stephen Bryant, which will be performed at the concert and is part of a broader cycle 'Pendulum', inspired by the idea of seeking inner silence.
Alongside the music of S. Bryant, the concert will also feature a piece by another American sound master, John Mackey – the work 'This Cruel Moon' (2017), based on deep silence, which is a shortened version of the slow movement from the symphony 'Wine Dark Sea'. Mackey's music is characterized by vivid imagery, clarity of thought, spiritual intensity, and virtuosic instrumentation. A similar trend can be observed in the symphonic music of James Barnes – the slow movement of his third, 'Tragic' symphony titled 'Natalie', included in the concert, depicts deep, personal reflection, emotional fragility, and a yearning for light in the most tragic moments of life.
In turn, the works of composer David Maslanka have been included in the repertoire of the Riga Orchestra more than once. They are characterized by alternating expansive meditative passages with spiritually rich expressive climaxes, which uniquely combine both the traditions of American minimalism and references to the Catholic Church and the deepest layers of the melodies of J.S. Bach's chorales. The work 'Give us this day' (2006), created at the end of the author's life, he himself called a short symphony, in which a veiled message about the significance and meaning of mindfulness in human life is embedded.
Among the works of Latvian composers, the program includes the composition 'Tikai miegā' (Only in sleep, 2010) by Eriks Ešenvalds, which was originally written for choir, but British arranger Philip Littlemore adapted it for wind orchestra. This piece is one of the most performed Latvian compositions in the world – a dreamy vision of childhood memories with a delicate and expressive musical character. In turn, 'New Year's Music' (1979) by composer Georgs Pelēcis brings a bright, melodically pure, and rhythmically light energy in anticipation of the new year.
Admission to the 'Meditations' concert is free by invitation.
