Riga Chamber Choir “Ave Sol” under the direction of conductors Andris Veismanis and Jurģis Cābulis is organizing the traditional Advent concert “Christmas Oratorio” for the fourth year. As every year, the program will focus on the “Christmas Oratorio” by the French romantic Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921), which will be performed by the brilliant “Ave Sol” soloists Agate Grīnhofa, Kristīne Freimane, Aleksandra Špicberga, Mārtiņš Zvīgulis and Artūrs Švarcbachs. This time, the instrumental accompaniment will be the string quartet “Sponte” led by first violin Marta Spārniņa, accompanied by violinist Liene Neija-Kalniņa, violist Ivars Brīnums and cellist Ēriks Kiršfelds. The string quartet will be joined by contrabassist Toms Timofejevs and harpist Elizabeta Lāce, as well as Vita Kalnciema, organist of the Jesus Church and professor at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA).

Alongside the oratorio by Saint-Saens, works by Latvian composers will be performed, and the concert will consist of two large-scale opuses and two smaller pieces. These are “Meditation” by composer and organist Lūcija Garūta, in which Vitas Kalnciems will be heard soloing at the organ of the Church of Jesus, while the voices of the “Ave Sol” choristers will respond to the organ pipes in the critically acclaimed “Prayer” by Andris Dzenītis, conducted by Andris Veismanis, artistic director and main conductor of the Riga Chamber Choir “Ave Sol”.

Andris Veismanis will also conduct the premiere of the “Silent Night” cycle by Andrejs Selickis, composed especially for this concert, which contemplates the time of waiting for Jesus in heavenly harmonious colors. Conductor Jurģis Cābulis, in turn, will have the concert’s title work – Camille Saint-Saens “Christmas Oratorio” at his disposal for the fourth year.

The Riga Chamber Choir “Ave Sol” is a unique phenomenon in the world of Latvian choral music, which has always highlighted the creation of new professional music – the creation and performance of Latvian choral music, as well as the continuity of choral conducting, which has flourished anew, for example, in the concert series “Choir Laboratory”, in which JVLMA master’s students create their exam concert programs, collaborating directly with the Riga Chamber Choir “Ave Sol”. The next “Choir Laboratory” experiment will be observed already on January 23, 2025 in the Concert Hall “Ave Sol”.

Free invitations to the concert are available from November 27 at the “Biļešu paradīze” box offices and www.bilesuparadize.lv

You can find out more about Advent, Christmas and New Year’s Eve events in Riga on the website kultura.riga.lv, as well as by following the information on the Riga City Council social media pages “Rīga” and “Rīgā notiek”.