Lūcija Garūta

Who was Lūcija Garūta?

Lūcija Garūta was a Latvian pianist, poet and composer who studied with Jāzeps Vītols and worked as a concert pianist. She turned to composing when illness ended her performing career.

Her 1943 cantata Dievs, Tava zeme deg! is recognised as part of Latvian Cultural Canon in music, recognizing it as one of most important Latvian musical pieces of all time. A tape of its premiere on 15 March 1944 during World War II captured the sounds of battle outside of Riga Dom. The lyrics were written by Andrejs Eglītis for contest themed "Latvian prayer to God" The premiere featured massed choirs conducted by Teodors Reiters while the composer played the Riga Cathedral pipe organ. The cantata was banned under Soviet control of Latvia and was revived in 1990 at the 20th Latvian Song Festival with over ten thousand singers.