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 ILGI is the best-known Latvian folk music group, and celebrates their 26th anniversary this year. Although inspired by ancient Latvian folk music, ILGI does not avoid modern themes and instruments, and embellishes its sound with folklore elements from different lands.
Their trademark is Ilga Reizniece's fascinating, almost smoky voice, but the other members of the band play an intriguing array of instruments with a careful blend of traditional and modern influences. At the beginning, ILGI was an ensemble playing authentic Latvian folk music. They visited remote parts of Latvia in search for unrecorded folk songs, studied the traditional performance, and even sewed their own traditional costumes and built their own instruments. Their studies of authentic Latvian folk music led to interests in ancient history, archeology, ethnography, mythology and other traditions. Unfortunately these endeavors were considered dangerous and subversive by the Soviet regime ruling in Latvia at that time. With independence in the 1990s, the group’s research laid the foundation for developing the ensemble beyond the boundaries of traditional music. As Ilga put it, "there always has been a dual purpose of the group: we had to fulfill our mission in preserving the Latvian heritage, return the forgotten lore to the nation, but at the same time we really enjoyed just playing the music."
ILGI are: Ilga Reizniece (vocals, violin); Maris Muktupavels (vocals, kokle [similar to the Finnish kantele or dulcimer, but with its own unique sound]), bagpipes, pipes, jaw harp; Gatis Gaujenieks (vocals, bass, trough fiddle, mandolin, domra, frame drum); Egons Kronbergs (guitar, balalaika); Vilnis Strods (percussion). |
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