Turning to the richness of the ancient layers of Latvian traditional music, the Latvian National Centre for Culture has prepared a methodological material in electronic format “Latvian Traditional Recitatives. A Practical Handbook '. Edition is prepared by ethnomusicologists Ieva Tihovska, Zane Smite and Ilze Cepurniece..
“Traditional recitatives, or 'teiktās dziesmas' (‘said songs’ in Latvian) form the ancient layer of Latvian traditional music,” explains Ieva Tihovska. “They have been recorded in all regions of Latvia and have appeared in both annual festivals and wedding, baptism and funeral, both in shepherds and other works and in the sleep of children. These songs are characterised by another way of singing – closer to speech, not melodic, flowing singing.”
The methodological material is intended for all traditional music stakeholders – folklore group and ethnographic ensemble leaders and participants, researchers and scientists. In addition to the traditional recitative song style and singing technique, the Handbook provides recommendations for the learning of these songs by using music examples from Latvian folklore archive (www.garamantas.lv) and the digital archive of the traditional music of the Latvian Music Academy. All the melodies used in the material also provide examples of notes transcribed by Ilze Cepurniece.
“For many years, teaching the traditional singing, the vocal techniques and styles, I really longed for short, concise guide about the songs you sing.” Not only with notes, but with the opportunity to listen to the recordings, because the traditional music and it's style is not easy to reflect in written notes. Creating the book, we found out how much is still unkown and to be studied. I hope the book will serve as inspiration for young researchers, "Zane Smith says.
Electronic material 'Latvian Traditional Recitatives. A Practical Handbook' is available on the website “Resources”.