Livonian folklore ensemble
Kāndla

In Ethnographical museum of Ventspils, Livonian farmstead, Christmas 1995

      Name: Kāndla
          meaning: psaltery, board zither
          recommended transcription in English: Kandla
          approximate pronunciation in English: Kaandla
          Listen pronunciation in AU format (11 Kb)

      Created: 7 February 1972
      Location: Targale parish, Ventspils distr., Kurland
      Leader: Austra Čepeļevska, Anda Fišere
      Number of participants: 24, of them by age:
          younger than 14 years: 6
          from 14 to 24 years: 6
          from 25 to 44 years: 2
          from 45 to 64 years: 8
          older than 64 years: 2
      and by gender:
          males: 4
          females: 20
      Forms of activity: sing, play music, play roundelays
      Musical instruments: kokle (psaltery), violin, rhythm instruments.

Baltica-94, Sigulda

      Description: The folklore ensemble was founded in February 1972 by Hilda Grīva-Cerbaha, herself a Livonian. Already from the beginning the ensemble tried to maintain the language and the musical heritage of the Livonians. The first concert was held on May 1972 in Ventspils, but on August 12 ensemble already acted in the Riga Ethnographical museum together with Līvlist and with the guests from Estonia.
    Kāndla is regularly acting in Ventspils and in the nearby districts. At least once per year the ensemble is performing in Estonia - in Tallinn, Tartu, Viljandi.
    At Soviet time official organizations were putting a spoke in ensemble's wheel. For example, the party functionaries of Ventspils had decided to force Kāndla to sing in Latvian, since they did not know the Livonian language and it seemed to them that something "countercensorship" could be performed. However, the ensemble went over under the more liberal Culture department of the Ventspils district, and it has stayed under the Ventspils district's wing until now.
    In 1984 Hilda Grīva died, but the ensemble survived and is lead since 1985 by Austra Čepeļevska who is helped by her daughter Anda Fišere.
    The ensemble has participated in all festivals Baltica in Latvia and Estonia, since 1980 - in all Latvian Song festivals, and in XX Estonian Song festival.
    A children folklore group - Pikši kāndla - works beside Kāndla.

Year 2002

      Address:
          in Latvian: Anda Fišere, Kuldīgas 23-39, Ventspils, LV-3600, Latvija
          in English: Anda Fisere, Kuldigas 23-39, Ventspils, LV-3600, Latvia
      Phone: (+371) 36-22859

      Date of presenting the information: 29 July 1998, 4 September 2002