Suiti of Gudenieki

The folk group or ethnographic ensemble was founded in 1965. It has inherited the tradition of drone singing from the old singers, who demonstrated their singing skills and knowledge of traditions to the Riga public already in 1924, encouraged and supported by the director of the Riga Teachers’ Institute, Ludis Bērziņš.

There are singers with a long experience in the ensemble. Rozālija Rudzīte and Emīlija Kantiķe have been singing in the ensemble since its beginnings – in 1965, when Lidija Jansone created the ethnographic ensemble Gudenieku Suiti, to preserve the folk singing traditions in Gudenieku and Basi municipal parishes.

In 1984, the singers participated in the International Folklore Festival organized by the Union of Russian Composers, where they received great recognition and were awarded with a trip to Greece.

In 1987, Gudenieku suiti participated in the creation of two Latvian films – Dzīvīte and Cerību Lauki.

In 1999, the ensemble starred in the film Kāzas directed by Viesturs Kairišs.

Gudenieku suiti put special emphasis on maintaining wedding traditions. The traditions of celebrating St. John’s Day have also been shown abroad – in Portugal during the exhibition Expo – 2000 and in Sweden, at the St. John’s Day event in Stockholm in 2000.

In 2002, together with Alsunga and Jūrkalne Suiti, the ensemble took part in the open-air performance Suitu kāzas (Suiti wedding). The singers have been indispensable participants of the international folklore festival Baltica in both Latvia and Estonia.