Put puti, ziemeli, ziemsvetku nakti (Mixed Choir): Choral Octavo for Mixed Voices (SSAATB)

Jekabsone threads a genuine Latvian folk melody through a rhythmically propulsive modern harmonic landscape, creating something that feels both rooted in tradition and urgently alive. The addition of percussion and the SSATBB voicing give you textural flexibility; you can strip it down or lean into the full carnival energy depending on your ensemble's strengths. It's the kind of piece that teaches singers about cultural specificity while refusing to treat folk music as quaint.

There's a restless, celebratory energy here, like masked figures moving through snow from house to house. The music combines folk melody's directness with modern rhythmic complexity, creating a feeling of tradition caught in motion. It's spirited and purposeful, never precious.

Mixed choirs comfortable with six-part writing and rhythmic variety will find this piece rewarding. It works well for groups that want to program cultural and seasonal repertoire beyond standard carols, and for ensembles with access to available percussionists.

• Anchor the percussion part to the singers from rehearsal one. The rhythm section drives the momentum, so make sure your percussionists hear the vocal pulse clearly and lock into it early.
• Mark the shifts between rhythmic figures in your scores. This piece breathes differently across sections, and singers need visual cues to track when the rhythmic thrust changes.
• Use the lower voices (T, B) as your rhythmic anchor. They often carry the forward motion; if they settle into a solid groove, the upper voices can layer freely on top.
• Research the winter solstice customs Jekabsone describes in the text. Share that context with your choir before you rehearse. The piece makes more musical sense when singers understand they're depicting a specific cultural celebration, not a generic winter scene.

This fits naturally into a December concert as an alternative to conventional Christmas fare, especially if your program explores holiday traditions across cultures. It also works well in a concert focused on world or folk music, where it can anchor a thematic set. The piece's 16 pages and moderate complexity place it comfortably in a concert's second half.

• Reading SSATBB voicing with independent rhythmic lines
• Executing rhythmic figures that shift between duple and varied groupings
• Coordinate singing with percussion accompaniment
• Intonation in modern harmonic contexts built on folk melodic material
• Cultural and historical understanding of Latvian winter solstice traditions