Six Little Drummers (Latvian Folksong): Contemporary Choral Music

Ešenvalds transforms a traditional Latvian folk melody into something that feels both rooted and immediate. The writing respects singers' voices while creating genuine musical interest across all parts, making it rewarding to rehearse and genuinely moving to hear performed.

A conversation with history. The Latvian melody carries its own weight and memory, while Ešenvalds's harmonies create gentle surprise and emotional depth that honors the source without sentimentality. It feels both intimate and inevitable.

Collegiate, advanced high school, and professional choirs seeking repertoire that honors folk tradition while offering contemporary harmonic sophistication. The piece rewards choirs with secure intonation and the ability to sustain lyrical lines.

• Balance the folklore narrative across your choir so the text feels like a collective telling rather than a solo moment. Each section should own its phrase.
• Attend to the vowel shapes Ešenvalds creates through his harmonic progression; they'll clarify naturally if you sing through the phrasing rather than attacking each chord separately.
• Let silence breathe. Contemporary folk settings often hinge on what's not sung as much as what is.
• Shape the dynamic arc across all eight pages as a single musical thought; this prevents the piece from fragmenting into separate choral moments.

Program this alongside other Baltic or Scandinavian choral works to create a regional focus, or pair it with a sacred work and a secular piece to demonstrate how Ešenvalds moves between musical worlds. It works equally well as a concert closer or as part of a longer contemporary choral suite.

• Sustaining lyrical phrases across harmonic changes
• Balancing folk melody with contemporary harmonic language
• Ensemble blend in close-voiced textures
• Phrasing across multiple pages as architectural unity
• Textual clarity in non-English language material