Livonian celebrations in Mazribe on 4-5 August
On 4 August, the inaugural celebrations of the Livonian Culture Day at Mazirbe will take place. At 18.00, the Finnish vocal ensemble “Inehmo” will perform in the hall of the Community House or in the open air. The ensemble was founded in 2003 and is led by Anna-Kaisa Liedes. The ensemble takes Finnish folk song texts as its basis and combines them with traditional melodies of Finno-Ugric peoples – Finns, Ingrians, Udmurts, Karelians, Mari, and Seto. The ensemble’s repertoire consists mainly of the members’ own musical arrangements. Milla, who has an anthropological view of folk song texts, and Pipa, who plays with Kalevala rhythmic structures and experiments with archaic sounds such as throat singing, will perform at the festival. Pipa’s Norwegian-born husband Morten accompanies the duo on the organ.
After the “Inehmo” concert at 19.30, a musical and historical story about the history of the Livonian flag “Līvõd vērmõd” (“The Colours of Livonia”) will be presented in the hall of the Community House. It premiered on 19 November 2022 at the Eduards Smiļģs Theatre Museum in Riga on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the Livonian flag. The idea for the production was conceived by Monta Kvyatkovska, head of the Riga chapter of the Livonian Union, and the script was written and directed by Marija Bērziņa. The actors are Jēkabs Reinis, Ģirts Gailītis and Rihards Lībietis.
The celebration of the centenary of the Livonian Union “Mums savs ir gājums” (“We have our own way”) on 5 August starts with a service in Mazirbe Church at 10 am. Two hours later, the opening ceremony will take place in the Community House, with the participation of the Livonian ensembles “Kāndla” and “Rāndalist”, the Salaspils mixed choir “Lōja” and guests from Estonia and Finland – the mixed choir “Vanemuine” and the ensemble “Inehmo”. At 13.30, a ritual will be held by the sea in honour of the Mother of the Sea.
At 15.30, a festive book presentation “The Hour of the Wise” starts in the Community House’s hall with musical greetings by the Livonian bands “Kāndla”, “Rāndalist” and “Nurmorkestõr”. Readers will be introduced to four new publications. Renāte Blumberga, Baiba Damberga, Zane Ernštreite and Ķempi Kārl, authors and creators of the books, will be present.
The afternoon continues at 16.30 with a concert by the Tartu mixed choir “Vanemuine”, conducted by Liia Laanmets. The choir has a long history. The Vanemuine Society was founded on 24 June 1865 and organised the first (1869) and second (1879) Estonian Song Festivals in Tartu, thus establishing the tradition of Estonian song festivals. Since then, the choir has participated in all national and local song festivals. The choir’s concert will also feature performances by the male ensemble WanSel and the dancers of the flamenco dance studio Duende.
The evening part includes three events. At 19:00, the concert “Mums savs ir gājums”, dedicated to the centenary of the Livonian Union, will begin. The music ensemble led by composer Jānis Ķiršs, the instrumental ensemble and soloists Elīna Ose, Rūta Dūduma-Ķirš and Daumants Kalniņš and the Lōja Choir will perform. After the evening concert at 21:00, there will be a lakeside bonfire and participants will sing at sunset. The long day will end at 22.30 with a green ball.
