Youth Choir Balsis Christmas Concert 2020

This year we will still have our Youth Choir Balsis Christmas concert, but instead of it being possible to hear it three times, as usual, this year it is up to you, choose the play button as many times as you want to!

Obviously it won’t be the usual two part programme that Balsis usually performs in the Anglican Church in Rīga, but you will still be able to hear the essence of this programme.  It is the 24^th Christmas concert programme that the artistic director, Ints Teterovskis, has conducted. For his relatively new assistant conductor, Laura Elizabete Godiņa, it is her first Christmas concert with Balsis. Laura and the choristers have designed  a programme  which has a somewhat Scandinavian flavor, with the envisaged programme containing songs from the Baltics and Scandinavia. The choir has prepared several Estonian and Norwegian songs but a cycle of  Reinis Sējāns songs  was also intended. This year’s current “essence “ programme won’t allow for that, but hopefully it will be performed live in its entirety in the future. As well, Balsis along the New York Latvian Choir have recorded it and the new album will soon be accessible worldwide. You can also listen to it on Spotify.

Currently, you are about to enjoy an excerpt of the planned Christmas programme. This consists of three songs, from the heart and, importantly continuing a tradition, from the Anglican Church in Rīga. The choristers start with a Swedish song, which is then followed by a Norwegian folksong. Naturally Silent Night, Holy Night is part of the concert, this time as arranged by Uģis Prauliņš. But wait! That’s not all! There is another tradition that we continue with this concert. The Christian Heinrich Rinck and Johans Vilhelms Hejs song “Every year the Christ child comes again…”is traditionally performed at the Balsis Christmas concert – not just by the choir but with the audience singing along. So please join us! Merry Christmas!