Tautumeitas - Bērzinš

 #Tautumeitas #folk #Latvian folk #world music #traditional folk #Eastern European folk #music video

One of the most notable events in recent years in Latvian folk music has been the debut of the ensemble Tautumeitas. As their name implies, the group gathers together six ‘folk girls’ who perform songs inspired by Latvian folk songs and folklore. Their first recording, Lai māsiņa rotājās!, was performed together with the drum and bagpipe ensemble Auļi, and the group’s proper first debut album, simply entitled Tautumeitas, was released in 2018. In just a few years, the ensemble has become one of the best known and most popular folk ensembles, and have even appeared in a commercial for the Latvian national airline airBaltic. The members of the group are Asnate Rancāne (violin, voice), Aurēlija Rancāne (drums, voice), Ilona Dzērve (accordion, voice), Lauma Bērza (violin, voice), Laura Liepiņa (percussion, voice) and Laura Marta Arāja (percussion, voice). The album also features additional musicians and instruments, such as brass instruments and cello. Integral to the album’s sound is also producer, percussionist and arranger Reinis Sējāns. Though they use many elements from Latvian folklore in their songs, it is still a thoroughly modern album, and one might consider the songs to be a kind of ethno-pop style of world music. As all six members of the group are singers, it is then no surprise that the vocals are the main focus for the musical offerings. The importance of singing is echoed in the first song, the appropriately titled ‘Sadziedami’, where the powerful vocals are supported by a thunderous musical accompaniment while the ensemble sings ‘sadziedam mēs, māsiņas’ (let’s sing together, sisters!) Inspired by the Krustabas ritual (or Latvian folk Christening), the song ‘Pāde’ is a song about self-growth. The ritual of the ‘pādes dīdīšana’, where the one being christened is passed around in the arms of the invited guests, is meant to pass along positive thoughts from the guests. In this song, as with many of their songs, Tautumeitas use the mystical aspects of Latvian folk rituals to create a richly layered song, with help from Reinis Sējāns, who provided the arrangement.  From: https://latviansonline.com/popular-tautumeitas-ensemble-release-debut-ethno-pop-folklore-album/

Tautumeitas - Raganu Nakts

 #Tautumeitas #Latvian folk #world music #traditional folk #Eastern European folk #music video

Tautumeitas - Raganu Nakts

Hey all, I'm wondering if anyone can offer info about this song. I've read a google translation, so I have a vague idea of what the lyrics mean. I'm curious about the history of the group and some background on where they are conceptually coming from. The percussion is also really interesting and I'm curious of the instrumentation? Are they traditional latvian instruments/rhythms? (Sounds similar to japanese taiko drumming.) I am a descendant of Latvians displaced after WW2. I'm not fluent in this beautiful language yet, I apologise, I will get there. In the mean time, I'm trying to develop cultural appreciation and understanding through music. I've become a bit infatuated with this song and I'd love to know more.

Firstly - original Latvian (mostly older dialect) lyrics from the folk song that they are using as a basis for their track can be found here - https://genius.com/Tautumeitas-raganu-nakts-lyrics
As with most folk songs, there is no good (proper, well understandable) translation possible for this song. It's basically a short snippets of explanation supported by repeating chants ("līgo, līgo" - phrase being chanted during the "Jāņi" celebration - Latvian national summer solstice festival with long history). General idea throughout the song is that there is "Jāņi" being celebrated that night, and girls are taunting all the evil spirits and daring them to try to come in their farmstead, which is protected by old-Latvian protective signs, and they are singing that nothing bad will happen to them. I must explain that this is a common theme throughout many Latvian folk-songs, especially the ones dedicated to "Jāņi" celebrations - you see, it's an old folk belief that during the "Jāņi" night Latvians feel the most united and strongest, and are even daring the evil spirits. So there are a LOT of folk songs and tales with this motive.
P.S. "Tautumeitas" currently is, imho, by far the coolest and most successful folk-music related band, that is singing and playing their own versions of the classic folk songs, making them way more attractive to the younger audience. I highly suggest you to check out their other songs from the latest album - they are all great.

From: https://www.reddit.com/r/latvia/comments/gf3k8w/tautumeitas_raganu_nakts_info/

Tautumeitas is a Latvian folk/world music band formed in 2015. The band consists of six women vocalists/instrumentalists. Their album 'Songs From Auleja', released in 2019, introduced the world to sixteen songs from the Latvian village of Auleja. These songs, based on recordings found in archives, were also unfamiliar to most Latvians. In fact, it is this repertoire of songs that brought Tautumeitas together in the first place. The traditional form of a cappella multipart singing on this album, known as bolsi, is linked with specific times of the year or special celebrations. The texts tell about various natural phenomena as well as events and activities in people’s lives. These multipart songs were traditionally sung outdoors, the singers actively interacting with the environment.  From: https://www.lmic.lv/en/musicians/-tautumeitas-4619#!/