Chamber recital by Jānis Šipkēvics, featuring voice, piano and an invisible choir

The end of last year saw Jānis Šipkēvics, a member of the Instrumenti band, release his first solo record. This event was marked with a series of very personal concerts, its final stop scheduled for 16 July 2016 at the Cēsis Concert Hall as part of the Cēsis Art Festival programme.

Jānis Šipkēvics says: ‘There are conversations you can only have with yourself: the words are not spoken out loud. I can meet the eyes of everyone who has come to listen. Close to people, close to myself. After 75 minutes of this focused attention, I always feel that I have somehow unravelled a knot that is really important to me. And I know that I am not alone in this.’

The programme will comprise songs to lyrics by Aspazija, Rainis, Ojārs Vācietis, Agnese Krivade and to traditional folk poems, piano music by Philip Glass and a number of new pieces by SHIPSEA, and feature an appearance by Jānis’ sister Tīna Šipkēvica.