Celebrating 150 Years of Emils Melngailis

On 8 June, the 150th anniversary of the outstanding Latvian folklorist, composer, publicist, educator, and public figure Emils Melngailis (1874 – 1954) will be celebrated in Rucava throughout the day. The event will honour his significant contribution to the collection, recording, compilation, systematization, and processing of Latvian folk music materials, including folklore pieces from the Kurzeme region.

During the events held in Rucava, the Evangelical Lutheran Church will host a liturgy featuring a program of sacred music performed by choirs. Additionally, there will be a concert by ethnographic ensembles and groups in the square near the tourism centre. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see an exhibition of items curated by the Aizpute Local History Museum in the “Dzirnavas” Rucava Centre. The day will be filled with a market of home producers and craftsmen, workshops, and engaging activities related to E. Melngailis’ hobbies.

At 18:00, the central event of the festival, the Melngailis Song Festival “Emils Melngailis 150.Korsa,” will take place in the Rucava School Park. Its artistic program is based on the core values of the Kurzeme cultural and historical region, highlighting the collection and processing of folklore materials by E. Melngailis and the continuation of this tradition in the works of contemporary composers.

The artistic program of the event features a selection of folk songs recorded in Kurzeme and arranged by E. Melngailis from his “Birzēs i norās” collections over various years. It also includes arrangements of folk songs by contemporary Latvian composers, primarily those connected with Kurzeme, and original songs written in the style of folk music. Concert visitors will enjoy works by Latvian composers such as E. Melngailis, A. Engelmanis, S. Mence, J. Lūsēns, Ē. Ešenvalds, A. Kontauts, J. Strazds, Ā. Šķepasts, J. Vaivods, L. Celma, and L. Leontieva.

26 choirs from across Latvia, five dance groups, and seven ethnographic groups from South Kurzeme Region and Kuldīga, as well as the brass band "Kazdanga" and a group of musicians led by Normunds Kalniņš will join the event, totalling about 800 participants. The artistic director of the concert is Ilze Valce, who is the principal conductor of the Liepāja and South Kurzeme region choirs. The principal dance leader and choreographer is Jānis Purviņš, with the guest of honour being Gints Ceplenieks, a conductor from Rucava. The concert will be hosted by Solveiga Kūlaine, head of the Otaņķi Ethnographic Ensemble, and musicologist and storyteller Orests Silabriedis.

“This project is a key element bringing the diversity and richness of Kurzeme musical materials collected by Emils Melngailis to the attention of today’s society. It promotes the discovery and inheritance of our cultural heritage for future generations, as well as contemporary processes of music creation. Last but not least, it ensures the continuity of the Song and Dance Festival cycle, as it is well known that Melngailis was once one of the organizers of the festival,” says Ilze Valce explaining the idea and its importance behind the event.

The Melngailis Song Festival is organized by the Municipality of South Kurzeme with the financial support of the SCCF Kurzeme Culture Programme. Entrance is free of charge.

You will find the detailed program of the festival on South Kurzeme Region municipality’s website (in Latvian): https://www.dkn.lv/lv/notikums/melngaila-dziesmu-svetki-emilim-melngailim-150-korsa?date=0 and on the Facebook page of the South Kurzeme Culture https://www.facebook.com/Dienvidkurzemeskultura

If you wish to register for the Crafts and Home Producers Fair, you are welcome to apply: https://parvalde.dkn.lv/tirdzniecibas-atlauja-rucava

Background Information:

• “Korsa” (Kuorsa) is the first Kurzeme book of Emils Melngailis’ “Latvian Music Folklore Records,” featuring 1326 tunes of songs, dances, and instruments, published in 1951. Melngailis referred to Rucava as “a living museum of ancient Latvian identity.”

• “Korsa” is a locality name meaning Kurzeme, one of the historical Latvian lands.

• Kurzeme is distinguished on Latvia’s cultural map by its vivid historical traditions of music and folklore.

• Emils Melngailis, who first visited the Lower Kurzeme region of Rucava in 1911, made a significant contribution to the collection, research, systematization, editing, and publication of Kurzeme folklore.

• The volume “Korsa” of “Latvian Music Folklore Records I,” published in 1951 by E. Melngailis, contains a diverse and rich collection of folklore from Kurzeme, including both spoken and sung folk songs and dance and instrumental melodies played by Kurzeme storytellers.

• The collection is divided into four parts: “Alšvanga with neighbours. Curonian marriage,” “Rucava,” “Barta. Nīca,” and “Melodies from 1337 - 1437.”

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