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14.02.2024
To mark the 150th anniversary of the Latvian composer Emilis Melngails, Latvijas Pasts honours the music folklorist and choir conductor with a specially designed stamp. The first day cancellation of the philatelic release is scheduled to take place at Riga post office No. 10, 41/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga, from 9 AM to 6 PM on the 15th of February.
The new stamp features a portrait of Emilis Melngailis with fragments of sheet music. The dedication to the composer is accompanied by a cover. The releases have been designed by the artist Lilija Dinere. In the visual design, the artist has used materials from the Literature and Music Museum and the Misiņš Library of the Academic Library of the University of Latvia.
The face value of the newly designed stamp is €1.65. It corresponds to the postage of items in the weight class up to 20 grams in Latvia. The print run of the stamp is 15,000 copies, while the cover has a print run of 500 copies.
Throughout his activities and passionate life, Emilis Melngailis (1874-1954) relentlessly pursued the ideals of song folklore both in Latvian musical life and in the sound art of that era. The vitality of the ancient folk art with thousands of folk songs collected by Melngailis that flow in choral songs, is not just a testimony of the past or a romantic source of nostalgia; it is an everlasting reality.
“One overarching idea drives all [of my work]: to embrace in writing and fabric the spirit and taste of those old sound masters who, while remaining anonymous and unidentified for ever, gave birth to the profound Latvian song.” E. Melngailis.
The choir community is appreciative of the composer for granting the folk song a place of honour also in contemporary song festivals, while the folklore community values the composer’s advocacy of unadorned and unamused singing in everyday life. “Someday, when my quarrelsome and harsh personality will no longer be among you, my name will be brought into repute,” E. Melngailis wrote, referring self-critically to the glorification of folklore.
The stamp and the cover will first be available for purchase at the post offices of the largest cities and in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts.
The new stamp Emilis Melngailis – 150 can be viewed here.
The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 8th of March.
Philatelic works issued by Latvijas Pasts are highly valued both among the customers and philatelic collectors and experts. On the basis of stringently regulated standards, international associations of collectors of philatelic materials have determined that the stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts are on par with the philatelic releases issued by the largest countries in the world. As a result, these stamps are routinely included both in the catalogues of philatelic releases recognised around the world and in the collections of prestigious collectors.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services in more than 600 post offices throughout Latvia. The company provides the universal postal service, commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly state-owned company with around 2,300 employees.
Additional information:
Matīss Rutks | Communications Specialist
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv, matiss.rutks@pasts.lv
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