MustonenFest: The Ways of the Lord… Logos Male Chamber Choir (Latvia)
The Ways of the Lord… Logos Male Chamber Choir (Latvia)
Conductors Rihards Rudzītis, Max Roomsky Orthodox Church music from Ukraine, Greece, Georgia and new compositions inspired by ancient songs. Programme: Ilya Haritonov, Georgi Sviridov, Ioann Shenrock, Alexander Kopõlov, Mihhail Popov-Platonov, Alexander Barayev, Jānis Cīrulis, Maxim Kotogarov ja Max Roomsky Th
e whole history of the choir Logos (from Greek λόγος – word, idea, teaching) could not have been made without the inspiration of a great personality, a talented musician, a conductor, the priest Ioanne Shenrock. His long-nurtured idea of gathering experienced singers together to perform orthodox church music for the first time became a realty during the first years of the independence of Latvia when many people experienced a genuine interest in the traditions of sacred choir music. Leading the Latvian Culture Fund’s Choir during the 90-ties in the previous century, Ioanne Shenrock gave many performances in Latvia, Russia, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, receiving recognition at international festivals and competitions. In those days the most impressive achievement of the choir was definitely Apocalypses, a monumental piece by contemporary composer Vladimir Martinov and staged by the legendary founder and producer of Taganka Theatre in Moscow, Yury Lubimov (CD recorded in 1995), as well as the primacy at the International Festival of Orthodox Church Music in Hajnówka, 1997. In November 2013, blessed by His Eminence Alexander, the Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia, after some period of silence, the choir reemerged as the new strong male chamber choir Logos consisting of 12 experienced, accomplished and highly dedicated choir singers. The choir’s first public appearance – participation in liturgical festive services at the Riga Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral was immediately appreciated. However, the choir gained the attention of the public precisely through its concert activities. As a result of its further activities, the choir developed into an independent concert unit without any connection with the structures of the church. The basis of the choir’s repertoire consists of music of different regions and cultural traditions with sacral texts, from ancient church singing to contemporary composers’ writings. In addition, in its extensive work, the choir has also prepared programmes of European sacred music, Latvian and world classics. Cooperation with contemporary composers from the Baltic States, Finland and Russia also diversifies the programmes. However, the choir’s most striking business card is the emotional, dramatist-saturated singing of the Great Fast, as well as the classical concerts of the Orthodox music choir created by professional composers. The Choir’s name logos is deeply symbolic as its mission is to retranslate to the audience an essence of lyrics which is vital to create a special bound between the public and the musicians. Geography of choir’s concert activities – Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Georgia, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Cyprus, USA
