The Influence of Latvian Folk Music on Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Solo Trumpet Repertoire in the Works of Maija Einfelde and Romualds Kalsons

Abstract

This paper concerns two major Latvian composers, Maija Einfelde and Romualds Kalsons, and how their trumpet works embrace Latvian heritage in the form of folk songs. It includes brief biographies of the composers and describes how they use folk songs in each work. Einfelde's Kleine Ballade is more serious and menacing, being a description of young men going into war and not returning home. On the other hand there is Kalsons with his more optimistic approach to folk songs with much more transparent writing in his Six Latvian Folksong Arrangements. He takes a similar approach in his work commissioned for this paper A Dialogue Between Trumpet and Piano; it has plenty of humorous moments, yet there is also a serious side to it and with beautiful integration of the folk song into the work. These three Latvian works based on folk songs are demonstrated to be worthy entrants into the repertory for trumpet and piano.