A pagan figure who represents the mother goddess of the woods in the Baltic States, Meža māte is a gateway to the Baltic world and, by extension, a window into the imagination of the North.
The Baltic people were above all worshippers of the forces of nature. As agricultural peoples, they worshipped trees and forests, the Sun, Moon and stars, and all kinds of quadrupeds. Their gods and demons dwelt in the fields, lakes and rivers: they were the velè, the kaukis or dwarves, and the laume (female). Their temples were the sacred forests or alkas. Among the Latvians, this cult takes on a very marked character with the ‘mothers’ or māte, whose existence no doubt refers to a primordial mother goddess and who bear meaningful names: Lauka māte (mother of the fields), Meža māte (of the woods), Lopu māte (of the cattle), Jūras māte (of the sea), Dārza māte (of the gardens), Vēja māte (of the wind).
In this concert, which travels between Norway with Grieg, Latvia with Vasks, Poland with the brilliant composer Bacewicz and Finland with Rautavaara, nature is omnipresent, wild and free, with winters at night, northern lights in the north of Norway and Finland, midnight suns in summer, a different apprehension of life. Traditional songs are everywhere on this programme, thanks to the arrangements by the Danish String Quartet. Enjoy the journey to a land where ice sparkles in the woods and nature has been revered and preserved.
Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)
String quartet n.1 in G minor op.27 35'
Grażyna BACEWICZ (1909-1969)
String quartet n.4 (1951) 22'
OR
Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA (1928-2016)
String quartet n.1 ‘ Quartettino “ (1952) 12'
Pēteris VASKS (1946-)
String quartet n.2 ‘ Summer songs “ (1984) 28'
Nordic Folk Tunes / Chants nordiques (Arr. Danish String Quartet)
In connection with the 80th birthday of the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks.
