Do you know what Peter Barison’s connection is with the song festival? / LR3 / / Latvian Radio

Art expert of the Song and Dance Festival exposition department of the Story Writing and Music Museum Daiga Bondar

For most people today, Peter Barison’s name is associated with the beloved choral song “Today is a great day for a song”. We know that it was performed for the first time at the 10th General Latvian Song and Dance Festival in 1948, already under the Soviet occupation, and since then it has been sung at least 15 times at the festival. Unfortunately, Pēteris Barison himself did not experience the premiere of his song at the Great Song Festival…

Less known is the fact that the composer was not at all familiar with the then young poet Arvīdas Skalbi. However, this song was truly brought up by Selia, because the poet wrote the verses while visiting her grandmother’s hometown in Sēlpils “Kalna Virsājos”.

But here would be the right place to remind that the song festival is actually a continuous process, and it includes not only the big General Song Festival in Riga, but also many song days and song festivals in the regions. Only thanks to regular and persistent work, both the long life of this tradition and the high achievements of Latvian choral culture have been possible.

The first choirs were founded in the hometown of Pētera Barisons, Sēlpils, right after the First World War, and during the interwar period, at least three choirs, as well as various ensembles, were usually active in the Staburag area at the same time. Choirs performed or at every event. Barrison himself has been involved with choirs since his teenage years, both as a singer and as an assistant conductor, undertaking the training of choristers. It is here that he also makes his debut as a composer. His first song “Staburaga atmoda”, written at the age of 19, was later reworked several times and remained in the choir’s repertoire. However, many of Barison’s songs, written later and far from simple, have always been sung by the Sēlpils choir on local song days.

Very important in Barison’s life are the so-called Staburag song festivals, a wonderful tradition that the people of Šelpils started in 1923, with the young Barison in the action committee. Every year on Midsummer’s Day, a large concert takes place on the stage of Vīgante on the banks of the Daugava near Staburag, often under the direction of the famous Teodoras Reiter, but in 1930 Barisons himself also became the chief conductor.

And what about the many days of songs both in Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Zemgale, in which Barison participates as a listener, as a conductor, as a composer.

Together with Sēlpils friends, Barisons also takes part in the 1931 and 1933 General Latvian Song Festivals. But if during the VII festival, Barison is mainly a listener who describes in detail the whole event in his diary, then the 1933 festival is the debut of Barison’s composer – under the leadership of the chief conductor Teodoras Kalniņš, his choral song “Dziesmas maales lidotajas” with the words of the local resident Jānis Akuraters is played. It won an award in the Song Festival New Works Competition in 1932 and brought Barison wider recognition. He himself admits that “it is a valuable achievement, taking into account that sixty songs were sent to the competition, of which only eight were selected. (..) So, the first valuable victory before the “jury” judges – academics. And yet it is only a means, to get to the people. I will wait for the real judgment and recognition from them.”

“Nevertheless, it is a beautiful satisfaction: a little bit of my soul has also spilled into the crowd of singers and will spill over the listeners.” The self-critical Barrison is not exactly thrilled with the performance, but admits that this day belongs to the brightest pages of his life.

At the next Song Festival in 1938, Barison’s cantata “Dzimtenei” with words by Rudolf Busch won the first prize. It is also the last General Song Festival that Barison experiences. Who knows how the future course of Barison’s carols would have unfolded. It must be admitted that no other song of Barison was sung at the song festivals of the Soviet era, except for “Dziesmai kojny lija diena”, while the choral song “Latvia” could only be sung at the song festivals in exile. The real return of Barison began with the XX General Latvian Song and Dance Festival in 1990 and also after the wonderful choral songs “Latvija”, “Mūzai”, “Melodijas”, also the cantata “Atlantida” entered the collective choir’s repertoire…

Although Barisons did not experience the triumph of his song “It’s a great day for a song” in Riga, at the Staburaga song festival in 1947, which was so important to him, the 11 combined choirs of Jēkabpils district performed Barison’s new song under the direction of the author. It was the last concert that Barison conducted.

[1] Collection: First General Latvian Singing Festival [..]. Riga, 1873.

[1] Collection: Sixth Song and Dance Festival of Soviet Latvian School Youth, 1989. Songs for boys’ choirs. Riga, 1988.

[1] See: https://www.geni.com/people/August-Jacob-Reinberg/6000000011399662436

[1] LNB, J. Vitolas Foundation, RX0, 60, Apr. 1, 15-39. l.