Ainars Mielavs

Latvian folk music is the traditional music of the Latvian people, centered on the daina—short, tightly structured lyric songs in trochaic meter that often use four-line quatrains and nature- or myth-themed imagery. Melodies are typically narrow in range, modal (frequently Aeolian and Dorian), and performed either solo or in unison/heterophony with a characteristic sustained drone (burdons). Core timbres come from the kokle (a plucked box zither), bagpipes (dūdas), various flutes (stabules), fiddles (gīga), and later accordion; voice remains the primary instrument. Repertoires include work songs, wedding and ritual songs, lullabies, and seasonal songs—especially Jāņi (Midsummer) pieces with refrains like “Līgo.” Dance music incorporates European couple dances—polka, mazurka, schottische, and waltz—adapted to local style. Beyond the village, Latvian folk music also exists as a mass choral phenomenon through the Song and Dance Celebration tradition, where large choirs perform folk-based arrangements that embody communal memory and national identity.