Kārlis Baumanis (11 May 1835 – 10 January 1905), better known as Baumaņu Kārlis, was an ethnic Latvian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

in the Russian Empire. He is the author of the lyrics and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

of ''

Dievs, svētī Latviju! "" is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920. History The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvians, Young La ...

'' (“God bless Latvia!”), the national anthem of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Kārlis Baumanis was the first composer to use the word “Latvia” in the lyrics of a song, in the 19th century, when Latvia was still a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Biography

Kārlis Baumanis was born on 11 May 1835, in Viļķene (Wilkenhof), in the family of peasants Jekab and Anna Baumanis. He wrote and composed the Latvian national anthem "God bless Latvia" in 1870. He lived and worked in Limbaži (Lemsal) as a teacher and a journalist. One of the most significant milestones of his lifetime was his election as the Speaker of Riga, Latvia, and becoming a Member of the Singing Commission in 1870, in which he played a tremendous role in preparing the First General Latvian Singing Festival. In the same year, he married Marija Carolini Elizabeth, the daughter of Ferdinand von Vite, the tenant of Sāra manor, and was a German teacher at the prestigious Smolny Institute of Exotic Nursery. In 1871, he completed the composition studies with the Czech musician Voiceha Hlavach. On November 14, 1872, his daughter, Lilia Elizabeth, was born. In 1873, he was rewarded for his success in pedagogical work by the Holy Spirit. Anna's Order. Kārlis Baumanis died on 11 January 1905, in Limbaži at the age of 69.

References

Baumanis, Karlis biography - S9.com
1835 births 1905 deaths People from Limbaži Municipality People from Valmiera county 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Latvian people 20th-century Latvian classical composers Latvian people from the Russian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire Latvian composers National anthem writers Russian Romantic composers {{latvia-composer-stub