I really liked this CD. I’m not familiar with Latvian folk music, but it seems to alternate between a very Celtic dance style to a sort of Middle Eastern chant. I wasn’t so fond of this chant music– I found the male and female vocalists together very grating– but the fiddle/violin solos were very spirited and wonderful.

1) Kas varçja groþus vit (who weaves the reins)– springy; folk instrument that sounds kind of like a sitar or banjo; male vocalists, belting in the middle; fantastic fiddle solo in the middle of the song 2) Sçju vçju (sow the wind)– sounds kind of like an Irish drinking song; think the Chieftains turned Latvian; tight harmonies with male vocalists; sounds like it has bagpipes 3) Seði jauni bandenieki (six young men)– weird techno-bagpipe beginning; strong dance rhythm like previous song; slightly more somber; feels more like a chant; male vocalists 4) No tâlienes es pazinu (I knew from afar)– strong female vocalist singing with male backup and an occasional soprano in the background; violin accompaniment; good rhythm 5) Aiz upîtes meitas dzied (girls sing beyond the stream)– opens with a mandolin (?) and violin; male and female vocalists; has a distinctly middle Eastern feeling to it; sounds like a chant 6) Seði mozi bundezenîki (six young drummers)– this sounds like a melding of the two types heard before; a very chantlike sound sped up and spliced between fiddle solos; ends up sounding like a spirited dance 7) Treis vosoras saturçju (three summers I held)– male harmonies with a very rich sound; very repetitive and simple, but catchy; breaks into a rhythmic, enjoyable dance in the middle 8) Es ar meitu dancot gâju (I danced with the girl)– begins very elegant, rhythmic, and slow; sounds kind of like a Renaissance dance; speeds up into a canter; alternates back and forth throughout the song; male vocalist only interrupts halfway through the song 9) Pûti pûti vçja mâte (blow Mother Wind)– female vocalist a capella 10) Jûra krâca jûra ðòâca (the sea snarled and hissed)– strong rhythm with synthesized background; male and female vocalists; dance inserted in middle with pretty fiddle solo 11) Uz daugavas es dzîvoju (I lived on the river)– strong male vocalists with tight harmony; sounds like the mandolin again; kind of boring and slow until mild dance 12) Tumsa tumsa kas par tumsu (darkness, what darkness)– begins with bagpipe and guitar; segues into very fast male vocals and a spirited dance