Readings Dedicated to the Anniversary of the Publication of “Latvju Dainas”

On March 21 at 10:00 AM, readings dedicated to the anniversary of the publication of “Latvju Dainas” will be held at the Augusta Dombrovskis Music School in Riga, at Ziemeļblāzmas Street 38. Attendees will learn about the history of the creation of “Latvju Dainas” and listen to researchers' stories about outstanding cultural figures.

The first volume of “Latvju Dainas” was published in 1894. The work of Krišjānis Barons and his associates, particularly Fricis Brīvzemnieks and Henrijs Visendorfs, which spanned more than 30 years, culminated in 1915 with the publication of 217,996 collected variants of dainas in six volumes (eight books). However, the path to publishing these volumes was not easy – for example, the first volume was published in 10 separate booklets over four years, while subsequent volumes were printed in faraway St. Petersburg, complicating work with the manuscripts. The publishing process was also affected by a lack of funds.

On March 21, the event will feature Māra Vīksna, the curator of the Latvian Folklore Repository at the Institute of Literature, Folklore, and Art of the University of Latvia, who will speak about the sources of “Latvju Dainas” and the legendary Dainu Skapis, as well as the recently completed academic edition of folk songs. Līva Grudule, head of the Piebalga Museums Association “Orisāre”, will talk about Kārļa Skalbe's youth, Rasma Rapa, head of the Anna Brigadere Memorial Museum “Sprīdīši”, will discuss Anna Brigadere in Riga, literary historian Gundega Grīnuma will introduce the world of Aspazija’s creative work, and Daiga Berķe, a teacher at Riga 31st High School, together with her students, will share reflections on Barons' personality from the perspective of 21st-century youth.

Additionally, specialists from the Krišjānis Barons Museum, Rūta Kārkliņa, Andris Ērglis, and Dita Butule, will give presentations. They will provide insight into the publication challenges of “Latvju Dainas”, Krišjānis Valdemārs' linguistic works, and Barons' contributions to them.

The second part of the presentations will be dedicated to the 180th anniversary of Augusts Dombrovskis, starting with a commemoration at his resting place in the Ziemeļblāzmas Garden. Following this, in the Ziemeļblāzma Culture Palace, attendees will hear recollections of the traveling exhibition “Latvju Dainas and Krišjānis Barons” and an overview of Augusts Dombrovskis' contributions to the creation of cultural venues in the outskirts of Riga. This will be presented by Zane Auškāpa, project manager of the Northern Riga Cultural Association.

Musical performances will be provided by students of the Augusta Dombrovskis Music School.

The venue for the event, the Augusta Dombrovskis Music School, was not chosen by chance. Krišjānis Barons prepared a significant portion of the “Latvju Dainas” manuscript here, worked on proofreading, and received the long-awaited news of the publication of the final volume and the completion of the great work.

Admission to the event is free of charge.