Peteris Vasks - Dona Nobis Pacem (Recording)

Graduate Conductors' Chorus and Ad Hoc Ensemble
Johann Jacob van Niekerk, conductor
Peteris Vasks is one of Latvia's pre-eminent contemporary composers and is often grouped together with Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki and Giya Kancheli as a "mystic minimalist." He was born in 1946 in Aizpute, Latvia and received training as violinist and double-bass player at the Latvian Academy of Music and Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and entered the State Conservatory in Vilnius only to be rejected by the Soviets due to his father's occupation as Baptist minister. His father requested a setting of the Lord's Prayer that was simple enough for the congregation to sing. Vasks did not feel sufficiently mature to compose this commission in his father's lifetime, opting for a Dona Nobis Pacem instead, which he only finished in 1996. It is a largely overarching prayer, set as a memorial to his father but also embracing a concept of 'peace' that includes not only mankind but the entire physical universe. Music critic Bob Neill reports:
In Dona Nobis Pacem (1996), we are back in the mainstream of Vasks' musical vision of the world, the chorus taking the role of the violin and cello in the concertos. This work reveals the power of dissonance and minor keys in speaking of ultimate matters. Calling for eternal peace with poignant disharmonious musical phrases mixes anxiety and yearning into the prayer where, alas, they must probably henceforth forever be. In this music, it is the pain and yearning that make the prayer credible to us.
Vasks's fame spread outside Latvia in the 1990s, largely due to the efforts of Gidon Kremer. He received the Vienna Herder Prize of the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in 1996. He is currently a freelance composer in Riga, Latvia.
Dona nobis pacem Grant us peace

[@johannvn100]

thank you for your comment. this was my recital choir that I conducted for university. it was a great moment that I will remember for a long time :-)

[@CathMan28French]

I did this piece as a bass in my local choir with a full orchestra. It was my favorite performance to this date. We also did Avro Pärt’s Magnificat.

[@Alassandros]

Liquid serenity. Beauty felt down to my deepest depths. Thank you.

[@vincentstuart3148]

love this guys stuff!!!!!

[@mariathijssen1]

Does anybody have a recording of his piece Prayer ?(2011/2012)

[@MennoSpiro]

wat een prachtige muziek...