a Latvian or Lithuanian Christmas hymn
  • Raymond T. Wilson
    Posts: 1
    Good Morning!

    "Welcome King and Lord" was the English title of a Christmas hymn I happened to hear on a Latvian (Lithuanian?) radio program on the day after Christmas many years ago. It started with the basses singing the first verse a capella. The tenors joined in on the second verse, altos on the third, sopranos on the fourth, and TRUMPETS on the fifth. It was glorious!

    I wanted this piece on paper to show to the director of the 150-voice Newburyport Choral Society in Massachusetts, in which I sing bass. I contacted the radio station, but I had no success in finding it. After all these years, I just saw MusicaSacra.com mentioned on TV. Can you help me find this piece? Thank you very much.

    Merry Christmas!

    Raymond T. Wilson
  • Leland
    Posts: 32
    I'm saddened to see nobody responded to this. With Advent right around the corner, it's time to resurrect the query. Baltic Christmas material is hard to find, I'd love a Latvian or Lithuanian (or Estonian) hymn to do this year. Perhaps my Esperanto contacts can be of assistance here; if so, I'll link the results here.

    Leland aka Haruo
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    There is a Latvian choir in New York City that has done at least one CD that I know of. It's the New York Latvian Concert Choir and they have done a Christmas CD - as well as a lucious recording of 20th century Latvian Christmas cantatas. I can't get enough Latvian music myself. Their web address is http://www.nylatvianconcertchoir.org/en/nylcc.php?./contents-01-home.ssi

    Good luck!
  • Hilary CesareHilary Cesare
    Posts: 75
    This CD has a few Baltic Christmas songs - although I don't know if they are sacred in nature. (http://www.etvgirlschoir.ee/gratiaseng.html)

    Some excellent Latvian and Lithuanian living composers to research (much of their choral music is set to sacred Latin texts):
    Vaclovas Augustinas
    Vytautas Miškinis
    Rihards Dubra

    I know Dubra is a practicing Catholic.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Andris Amolins
    Posts: 154
    Unfortunately I cannot, at least by the English title ("Welcome King and Lord"), recognize it as any Latvian Christmas song. May be it is a Lithuanian one. As for Rihards Dubra, he is a very beloved composer in Latvia, his works being often performed both by parish choirs and secular choirs as well. Most of them are not easy, though. As an organist and choirmaster he is among those (alas, a minority) who try to maintain some presence of the Gregorian chant in Catholic Church services.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
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