After the Soviet annexation of Latvia, the Festival continued but was adjusted to be a celebration of the Soviet family and a forum for Soviet propaganda. The festival was always dedicated to an event in Soviet history, such as the twentieth year of Soviet Latvia (1960) or Lenin’s hundredth birthday and the thirtieth anniversary of Soviet Latvia (1970). The concert would open with songs like ‘Lenin always with you’ (1960), ‘Let’s sing praise to the Soviet Homeland’ (1960), ‘A song about Lenin’ (1970) or “‘For Lenin’ (1985). Latvian songs were also included, but often inserted into a collection of folk songs from other Soviet nations, as a sort of sampling of the cultures that comprised the great Soviet Union. * The 1985 Soviet Latvian Song Festival was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Soviet people’s victory of the Great Patriotic War and the 45th anniversary of the restoration of Soviet power in Latvia. The festival opened with a military march. The song Gaismas Pils (Castle of Light), a Song Festival classic and favourite written by Jozeps Vitols in 1899 during the first national awakening, had been taken out of the programme two days before the final concert. It was traditionally conducted by the elderly Haralds Mednis. He was crossed out by soviet organisers along with the song, supposedly deemed too old, weak and washed up to carry out his conductor’s role. Participants were discouraged; Mednis resigned himself to a seat in the audience. The official programme ended and a long and tense silence followed. The choir and the audience knew, or felt, what had to happen. They awoke. In an act of collective thought and unrestrained spontaneity thousands of voices began to chant “Mednis! Gaismas Pils! Mednis! Gaismas Pils!” The choir would not let their Maestro sit in the sidelines, would not let their song be removed from their repertoire. There was a moment of hesitation and confusion from Mednis himself – he would be taking a huge risk. Finally, ignoring Soviet censorship laws, he emerged from audience to retake his rightful place and led the choir in Gaismas Pils. He didn’t instigate the song, 130 000 people did, they called for him – he went. His body did not belong to him. He later called this his brightest hour. ¯ ¯
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Liepins family photographs
Latvian Song and Dance Festival, 1985. from top: The choir of 30 000 sings to an audience of 100 000. The banner above the choir reads ‘May song resound for our Soviet homeland’ A Soviet guard observes and photographs the crowd at a dance performance.
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