On November 8, the digital album of the choral music opus “Overwhelmed on the Shore” by Kristaps Krievkalns and Kārlis Kazāks is made available for the audience on the Spotify and other most popular streaming platforms. In addition, on November 10 the concert film “Overwhelmed on the Shore” is going to be released, including parts of the live performance that took place this summer on Saulkrasti beach along with some artistic intermedia. The film will be broadcasted on LMT smart TV, app LMT Straume, as well as on the webpage straume.lmt.lv.
“This is a contemporary addition to the Latvian choral music tradition, where in one opus consisting of 13 parts, the traditional a cappella singing is combined with some powerful pieces of music with its roots in the popular and world music; it is written for mixed choir, instrumental group and electronics. We spent almost two years working on this album”, tells Laura Leontjeva, the artistic director and conductor of the choir ANIMA.
It is a first-ever original choral music composition created by the composer Kristaps Krievkalns, while writing the lyrics for this choral music opus was, as Kārlis Kazāks admits himself, a completely new experience.
The main musical component of the film is the audio-visual concert “Overwhelmed on the Shore” which had its premiere night on Saulkrasti beach on July 9 this year. It is a journey from a total tranquillity to energetically loaded experience, looking for and finding some answers to the great mysteries of life. Running away from the city lights and finding oneself on the seashore, it leads the listener into a daydream revealing the love in all kind of shades – the ones taking you up to the sky, as well as the deeply transformative ones.
The director of the concert film “Overwhelmed on the Shore” is Valters Mirkšs, who is a Latvian living and working in the United States and was visiting Latvia during the production of the film.
“This film was a great challenge for me demanding switching from making short films and regular films to a new genre – a concert film. I wanted to integrate some elements from the classical filmmaking thus the idea of short, artistic intermedia bringing together all parts of the musical opus”, explains Valters Mirkšs.
The concert film “Overwhelmed on the Shore” will premiere on November 10 on LMT smart TV and app LMT Straume thus leading into the festive week of the national celebrations and adding to the various cultural events provided for the broad audience by LMT.
“Being a Latvian can mean many different things. In this musical opus and the concert film we can witness the new generation of the latvianship – strong, creative and in close relationship with the nature, but at the same time is modern and strongly linked to the technological development and innovations. We believe that this premiere will make the Latvian Independence Day a very special event, unfolding something new to each and everyone. It will also remind us all, that we are wealthier than ever with the new creative ideas and technological possibilities supplementing the centuries of experience”, emphasizes Juris Binde, CEO of LMT.
The concert film “Overwhelmed on the Shore” is a musical piece where music, movement and art all come together. The singers from the mixed choir ANIMA are playing the leading parts along with the actor Gints Grāvelis and dancer Liene Stepena, while actor Andris Keišs is the voice behind the scenes.
The sound directors are Mārtiņš Porters and Armands Treilihs, the lighting artist is Pāvels Armanis. The visual identity of “Overwhelmed on the Shore” is an original artwork by Mareks Gureckis and it is presented in the costumes of the performers, all together creating a living canvas painting. Choreographer Inga Krasovska reveals through the movement the diversity of images and characters. The producer, conductor and artistic director of the “Overwhelmed on the Shore” is Laura Leontjeva.
The project was supported by the Council of Saulkrasti Municipality, SIA “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons” and the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
The digital album “Overwhelmed on the Shore” was produced with the participation of Saulkrastu mixed choir ANIMA (conductor Matīss Tučs, vocal coach Elīna Ose), Kristaps Krievkalns (keyboards), Kristjāns Krievkalns (electronics), Miķelis Vīte (percussion), Armands Treilihs (bass guitar), Andis Klučnieks (flute and Irish pipes). The artistic director, conductor and producer – Laura Leontjeva, sound director – Kaspars Barbals, studio “Lauska”.
