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The recorded history of music in Estonia dates back as far as the 12th century.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2022) |
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| Culture of Estonia |
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The recorded history of music in Estonia dates back as far as the 12th century.
The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing and dancing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (c. 1179). [1] Saxo speaks of Estonian warriors who sang at night while waiting for an epic battle.
The Estonian folk music tradition is broadly divided into 2 periods. The older folksongs are also referred to as runic songs, traditional songs in the poetic metre regivärss that are shared by all Finnic peoples. Runic singing was widespread among Estonians until the 18th century, when it started to be replaced by rhythmic folksongs. Professional Estonian musicians emerged in the late 19th century at the time of Estonian national awakening. The best known active Estonian composers is Arvo Pärt.
Estonian epic poetry (Estonian: regilaul) has been extensively recorded and studied, especially those sung by women. They can come in many forms, including work songs, ballads and sung legends. Much of the early scholarly study of epic poetry was done in the 1860s by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, who used regilaul themes to compose the Estonian national epic, Kalevipoeg . By the 20th century, though, regilaul singing had largely disappeared from Estonia, with vibrant traditions existing only in Setumaa and Kihnu.
Traditional wind instruments derived from those used by shepherds, such as the karjapasun and vilepill, were once widespread, but are now more rarely played. Other instruments, including the fiddle, zither, concertina and accordion are used to play polka or other dance music. The kannel is a native instrument that is probably even more popular among the Estonian diaspora in North America than in its homeland, where well-known kannel musicians include Igor Tõnurist and Tuule Kann.
A notable example of an Estonian folk song is called "The herring lived on dry land", or simply "The herring song". According to its lyrics, in the ancient times the herring used to have legs and live on dry land. It used to destroy vermin, like rats and it was kept like a cat. One time a two masted sailing ship was transporting a large load of salt. Back then salt was expensive. Some unit of it called saam cost 100 of something in gold. There was a herring aboard the ship. The specific herring liked to eat salt, so it started to tunnel its way around the salt sacks. Eventually it accidentally chewed its way through the ships wooden hull, causing it to sink. This angered Neptune (the god of sea), who said to the herring: "Hey herring, because you chewed a hole into the ship and sunk the new ship, you will now have to live in seawater as punishment." The salt from the ship was released into the sea, resulting in the seas now having a salt composition. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
After the Estonian national awakening the first professional Estonian musicians emerged. The most significant were Rudolf Tobias (1873–1918) and Artur Kapp (1878–1952). Other composers followed, such as Mart Saar (1882–1963), Artur Lemba (1885–1963), Heino Eller (1887–1970) and Cyrillus Kreek (1889–1962).
In the 1960s, the Soviet communist authorities began encouraging forms of ethnic folk art from various parts of the former USSR and Eastern Bloc. Local ethnographic bands were formed after Leiko, a choir from Värska, came together in 1964, while a less regionally distinct form of Estonian folk music was soon promoted, Estonian ring dance beginning with the formation of Leigarid in 1969. The 1950s and 60s also saw the publication of Herbert Tampere's Eesti rahvalaule viisidega ("Estonian folk songs with melodies"), a collection of folk songs. The first LP of traditional music, Eesti rahvalaule ja pillilugusid ("Estonian folk songs and instrumental pieces") was released in 1967. In the 1980s, a series of musical festivals took place that helped stimulate the increasing popular demands for freedom of expression (these included the 1985 conference of CIOFF, the 1986 Viru säru and 1989's Baltica), leading to the nonviolent Singing Revolution of 1989, and Estonia's bloodless regaining of independence in 1991.
In the 1950s, Estonian baritone Georg Ots rose to worldwide prominence as an opera singer.
Estonia also produced a number of classical composers of high repute during the twentieth century, including: Miina Härma (1864–1941), Rudolf Tobias (1873–1918), Heino Eller (1887–1970), Artur Kapp (1878–1952), Artur Lemba (1885–1963), Mart Saar (1882–1963), Lepo Sumera (1950–2000), Eduard Tubin (1905–1982), Veljo Tormis (1930–2017) and the living composers mentioned below.
In 1992, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were shared recipients of the Polar Music Prize, [7] the award that is also known as the "Nobel Prize of Music" in Sweden.
There are several yearly music festivals of Estonia.
These celebrations of traditional life have inspired multiple later composers who modernized traditional music, including Olev Muska and Coralie Joyce, Kirile Loo, Veljo Tormis and the Estonian-Australian choir Kiri-uu. Other modern Estonian musicians include the influential composers René Eespere (1953–), Ester Mägi (1922– 2021), Arvo Pärt (1935–), Jaan Rääts (1932–2020), Urmas Sisask (1960–2022), and Erkki-Sven Tüür (1959–). Conductor Neeme Järvi has had a long and distinguished international career. His sons Paavo Järvi and Kristjan Järvi are both also conductors, and his daughter Maarika Järvi is a flutist.
The indie folk rock band Ewert and The Two Dragons are among the best known Estonian bands, having had success in Europe and signing with Warner Bros. Records and winning the European Border Breakers Award in 2012. The girl band Vanilla Ninja were also one of the best-known Estonian bands before their hiatus. In addition, artists such as Hortus Musicus, Kerli, Vaiko Eplik & Eliit, Iiris, NOËP, Miljardid and Trad.Attack! have gained popularity outside Estonia.
Metsatöll is a folk-metal band combining runo-song and traditional folk instruments with metal. Another Estonian folk metal group was Raud-ants.
Contemporary artists include Jüri Pootsmann, Tanel Padar and Ott Lepland. Today, many music festivals are held, such as Eesti Laul.
Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions of Nordic countries, especially Scandinavian. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Metsatöll is an Estonian heavy metal band formed in 1999. The band has been influenced by many musical groups along with folk units Garmarna, Stille Volk and Estonian folk/classical music composer Veljo Tormis. Much of their material, featuring flutes and other traditional Estonian instruments, is based on the wars for independence of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Lepo Sumera was an Estonian composer and teacher.
Kannel is an Estonian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Finnish kantele, Latvian kokles, Lithuanian kanklės, and Russian gusli. The Estonian kannel has a variety of traditional tunings. In Estonia, studying the kannel has made a resurgence after some years of decline.
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's principal conductor and artistic director until September 2008, when Daniel Reuss took over the task. Since 2014 the choir's principal conductor has been Kaspars Putniņš. The repertoire of the EPCC ranges from Gregorian Chant to modern works, particularly those of the Estonian composers Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis. The group has been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards, and has won the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance twice: in 2007 with Arvo Pärt's Da pacem and in 2014 with Pärt's Adam's Lament, the latter was shared with Tui Hirv & Rainer Vilu, Sinfonietta Rīga & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; Latvian Radio Choir & Vox Clamantis. In 2018 Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir won the prestigious Gramophone Award with its recording of Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Arvo Pärt and Psalms of Repentance by Alfred Schnittke.
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Tallinn.
Veljo Tormis was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia. Internationally, his fame arises chiefly from his extensive body of choral music, which exceeds 500 individual choral songs, most of it a cappella. The great majority of these pieces are based on traditional ancient Estonian folksongs (regilaulud), either textually, melodically, or merely stylistically.
The talharpa, also known as a tagelharpa, hiiu kannel or stråkharpa, is a two to four stringed bowed lyre from northern Europe. It is questionable whether it was formerly common and widespread in Scandinavia. Historically, it has been played in the Estonian-Swedish areas and in Western Estonia, particularly among Estonian Swedes who came to Estonia around the 10th century from the Swedish part of Finland; they likely brought the instrument with them It is similar to the Finnish jouhikko and the Welsh crwth. Jouhikko, a close relative of talharpa, is still known in Finland.
Tõnu Kaljuste is an Estonian conductor.
Estonian Record Productions ("ERP") is an Estonian music production company, founded on 1 March 2001. The main activity was initially record production, and the company has now branched out to produce music festivals and concerts, act as artist management, publish music, and offers notation and specialised travel services for musicians. Peeter Vähi is the artistic director and Tiina Jokinen is the managing director.
The Holst Singers are an amateur choir based in London, England. The choir is named indirectly after the English composer Gustav Holst, taking its name from the Holst Room at St Paul's Girls' School, the venue for rehearsals during the choir's early years.
Veronika Portsmuth is an Estonian conductor and singer.
Estonian TV Girls' Choir is a choir established by Estonian Television. It grew out of the Children's Television Music Studio, which was founded in 1990. Today the choir comprises 30 singers aged from 14 to 20.
Äio is a release from Estonian folk metal band Metsatöll, released worldwide in 2010 on Spinefarm Records. It features heavy use of traditional instruments such as the lokulaud, torupill, kannel, and angipill, in addition to the typical metal band instrumentation
100 great Estonians of the 20th century is a list of notable Estonians compiled in 1999 by Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Eesti Päevaleht, National Library of Estonia, Radio Kuku, and TV3.
The Princes is an Estonian rock band. The band was formed in 2009 by Edward Krimm and Jaagup Tormis, the grandson of one of the greatest living choral composers Veljo Tormis. The current lineup consists of Edward Krimm, Jaagup Tormis, Kaur Garšnek (guitar) and Valdur Viiklepp. All the members have a musical background and have taken part in other musical groups as well. Most notably, Jaagup Tormis has played in Sinine and Pedigree, Kaur Garšnek has played in Kreatiivmootor. Past members of The Princes have included Taavi Paomets, Kostja Tsõbulevski and Madis Viksi.
Villem Kapp was an Estonian composer, organist and music teacher.
Laine Mesikäpp was an Estonian film, radio and stage actress, singer, and prolific collector and cataloguer of Estonian folk music.
Runic song, also referred to as Rune song, Runo song, or Kalevala song, is a form of oral poetry and national epic historically practiced among the Baltic Finnic peoples. It includes the Finnish epic poems Kalevala and Kanteletar, as well as the Estonian Kalevipoeg.