The State Choir LATVIJA and Artistic Director Māris Sirmais invite audiences during the second half of August and the start of September to the International Sacred Music Festival, the most extensive Latvian sacred music event of the year.
Under the direction of conductor Māris Sirmais, the voices of the State Choir "Latvija" will create musical bridges spanning five distant centuries. This year marks the significant 500th anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the leading composer of the late Renaissance, who was — and still is — revered as a master of impeccably refined vocal polyphony. His masterpieces will be performed alongside motets by contemporary Italian composer Lorenzo Donati, which are based on themes by Palestrina.
The program will also feature the world premieres of three contemporary works: "Be Here and Now" for mixed choir a cappella by Jānis Rubiks — a double bassist, bass guitarist, composer, and arranger; "Five Poems by Rilke", a cycle for mixed choir and percussion by composer and founder of the Ozoli School of Music, Jānis Lūsēns, and "Via Amoris" for mixed choir and electronics by conductor, ethnomusicologist, composer, and member of the State Choir "Latvija", Irīna Mihailovska.