Paper short abstract:

Ethnographic ensembles were founded in Latvia during the Soviet period (1945-1991) from the mid-1950s onwards. Ethnographic ensembles played an important role in the maintenance, transmission, and revival of folklore traditions during the Soviet period in Latvia.

Paper long abstract:

Ethnographic ensembles were founded in Latvia during the Soviet period (1945-1991) from the mid-1950s onwards, but prototypes existed in the inter-war period and even earlier. The ensemble was formed by members of a local community, mostly women, who were musically skilled but without academic musical training. Their repertoire was rooted in local folk music traditions. The task of such ensembles was (1) to introduce local musical traditions, mainly singing traditions, to the general public through theatrical performances of weddings, christenings, or annual customs; (2) to preserve and pass on the traditions.

On the one hand, ethnographic ensembles were part of Soviet performance culture, but on the other hand, they were the opposite of Soviet stage culture and the artificial stylization of folklore traditions. Especially in the period of the Awakening (the 1980s), both the personalities of individual folk singers and ethnographic ensembles (and their performances) became important actors in maintaining national identity and cultural values.

Ethnographic ensembles played an important role in the preservation and transmission of folklore traditions during the Soviet period in Latvia. In the 1980s, ethnographic ensembles became romanticized bearers of ancient traditions and folk songs, and their performances became part of the folklore revival movement.