Marta Sniegs
SATB Choir
(2013)

Text: Zinaida Lazda (1902-1957)
Language: Latvian
Duration: 7 minutes

Premiered February 2013
Rockefeller Chapel Choir
Chicago IL

Composer’s Note

The text for Marta Sniegs comes from a collection of poems called Saules Koks (“Sun Tree”) by Zinaida Lazda. In setting this text, I utilized elements of Latvian folk song: drones against melodies as heard in some Latvain dainas (songs), and homophonic harmony. Tonally, the song centers around the pitches ‘G’ and ‘E’, the two main tuning areas of the kokle, a Latvian dulcimer. Coloring of that tonal structure as well as more spacious melodic leaps of fourths and fifths is reminiscent of the emblematic “Americana” associated with some composers of the WWI/WWII era. The meter is driven by the syllabic stress in the Latvian language; music and words each breathe life into the piece.

Structurally, the piece follows a gradual rise and fall. The soprano soloist introduces the melodic “theme” upon which the rest of the piece is based. The soprano section joins, then a drone is added, then two, and so on. Text progressively is added into the choir until the ensemble triumphs on the word “gaisma”(light). The soprano rings above but also with the choir, and after the moment of the impassioned call has passed, the piece slowly retreats back to its quiet and simple melodic line and drone. The soprano solo bookends the piece, with a chant-like incantation, a prayer floating above one last iteration of the melody, passed down to the tenor section, and turned inward as a hum, solidifying the moment as an outward expression but also an internal and individual sound.

Text

Kā balta mūzika Like white music
Snieg sniegs no debesīm. Snow falls from the sky.
Un svešo pilsētu And this strange city
Klāj tīrīgs miers. Is covered in cleansing peace.

Ir marta rīts. Is March morning.
Pret acīm izplēstām Against eyes wide open
Un skumjām dvēselēm And sorrowful souls
Vieš gaismu sniegs. Raises the light snow.

Tas pirmais sniegs That first snow
Kas še ir atnācis; Which has come here;
To vējš ir atpūtis That wind has blown
No tālienes. From afar.

To vējš ir atnesis Which the wind has carried
Varbūt no dzimtenes, Maybe from my homeland,
Varbūt pa Latviju Maybe over Latvia
Tas lidojis. It has fallen.

Tur ziemās kupenas There the winter’s snowdrifts
Bij augstu augušas Were higher and higher
Un martā spīdēja And in March glowed
Kā zeltītas. As if gilded.

Varbūt no turienes Maybe from that dear place
Kāds, tevi pieminot, Someone remembering you
Ir gaismā klusējis, In the light is calmed
Kā dara sniegs. As does the snow.

Miers atnāk necerot; Peace comes unbidden
Neviens to nezina, No one knows
Kad tevi apkaisa When you are sprinkled
Kāds Dieva prieks. By God’s grace.

Un sveša pilsēta And in the foreign city
Pēc lietiem pelēka After the grey rain
Pret rūpēm uzsmaida Against my worries, smiles
Kā savāds zieds. Like a strange flower blossom.

Ej, dienas soli liec, Go, day’s footsteps (life’s toil) placed
Ej, ceļu paņēmis; Go, along your chosen path;
Kas sāp, to neizkliedz What hurts, don’t shout
Un topi vieds! And become wise.

Perusal score forthcoming.