Sunday, May 03, 2009
Origins
- The Latvian composer Peteris Vasks (born in Latvia in 1946)
- One of the outstanding composers of the Baltic region.
- Vasks’s great love of nature is articulated in most of his compositions in the interplay of man and nature.
Geography of Latvia
- Latvia is the portion of that map that is coloured dark green.- The Latvian climate is humid, continental and temperate
- Summers are warm, and the weather in spring and autumn fairly mild
- During severe spells of winter weather, Latvia is dominated by cold winds from the interior of Russia, and severe snowfalls are very common.
Interpretation of song
• In Mate Saule Vasks describes the rising of the sun.
• Light is the goal and culmination of the composition.
• At the beginning he designs the expected sunrise by implying interwoven sound strands
• The idea of worship
• Meditation on the attributes of Nature
• Which stretches beyond the fever and the fret of his own fast-changing world
Imagine...
- Yourself in another country, having just woken up.
And as you are embracing the beauty of nature, the fragrance of bread drifts into your room and you see your mother baking bread in the kitchen. (Note: You are not in Singapore, so the kitchen looks like this) 
You embrace all these beauties that surround you, the fragrance from the bread, your mother being hard at work preparing the breakfast, the beautiful sunrise, the beautiful sounds of morning, the peaceful rest that you had and everything that came together to make your morning beautiful.
Song Translation
Rugst rits ka mikla maizes abra
Morning is rising like kneaded bread dough
Pret klo-nu mates soli klaudz
Mother’s footsteps clatter on the clay floor
Un klaipi klavu lapam klati
Loaves covered with little leaves
Uz lizes krasnij mute brauc
Travel on the pel into the mouth of the oven
Vel jeri gul ar zvaigznem acis
Lambs still sleep with stars in their eyes
Velde lu sapnos arkli gul
The still clouds lie idle in man’s dreams
Bet mate saule baltu sviestu
But mother sun churns white butter
Kamu zibu uz slieksna kul
Like eternity on the threshold
Laiks rite japa saltu rasu
Time rolled like through cold dew
Tris gadsimtus vai stundas
Centuries or hours
Kad modamies jau saule gaja
When we awoke the sun was already stepping up
Pa osu gatvi debesis
the ash trees into the sky
