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The music presented in this recording is based on Regilaul (runic song). This is considered to be the oldest style of traditional Estonian music. The runic-verse song-form (verse in the Kalevala metre) is common to the majority of Balto-Finnic cultures. It is presumed to date back to the 1st millenium B.C. when the Balto-Finnic people had not yet branched into different cultures and still shared a common Balto-Finnic protolanguage. During the last century, runic song slowly gave way to the newer folk songs, and popular songs of literate origin, which spread through school, church and choir singing. However, runic song has still been in use to some extent in the present century. The runic-verse songs do not have a fixed final form - separate verses may be added, omitted or altered. New songs are created by combining them in different ways. This capacity for variation and innovation is obviously one of the reasons for the persevering nature of runic songs. It is rather difficult to decide whether the recordings on the present CD portray a runic-song version from the end of the 20th century, or compositions by Peeter Vähi and Kirile Loo.
According to traditional legends, God made the kannel and the origin of the bagpipe is connected with the Devil. Influenced by Christian tradition, this belief displays the significant role of the bagpipe in the recreational events of the Estonian peasants. Bagpipes were not only used during various pagan rites, it was also the most common instrument for making dance music. The oldest references to the Estonian bagpipe date back to the Middle Ages. The straw whistle (olepill, No. 10) and the reed pipe (roopill, No. 14) were very popular among the herdsman. The reed pipe was directly related to the bagpipe. Various melodies were played on these instruments, however, improvisations are characteristic of these instruments. The oldest Jew's harps (parmupill, No. 3 and 12) found in Estonia date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. They were used mostly in the northern and western parts of the country. The general musical style for Estonia is very melodious. An old signal instrument is played in piece No. 8, the lokk (a wooden gong), made from a 1.5 m long dry-fir board that is suspended in the air. Special rhythmic signals were played on it using two wooden hammers. Each signal had a special meaning. One signal called those working in the fields to a meal, another was for prayer, the third signalled the end of the working day, the fourth signalled a fire, etc. Farmstead women in southeast Estonia still called the cattle home during the 1930s by banging on the wooden gong. |
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The
present recordings introduce a wide variety of traditional Estonian music
instruments. They are used to accompany singing and as solo instruments.
Piece No. 1 introduces the oldest Estonian string instrument, the kannel,
which is a traditional instrument common to the 10 cultures residing on
the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The kannel's venerable age of at
least 2000 years is described in the ancient folk song "The Making of
Kannel". The lyrics describe how a marvellous instrument is made of fish
bones and various types of wood, with strings made from a maiden's hair.
According to folklore, this instrument, and the sound it produces, have
magical significance. The sound it produces is believed to frighten away
evil spirits, plague and death. Another type of kannel emerged during the
second half of the 19th century (piece No. 10). The older kannel only had
5 or 6 strings, whereas the newer kannel has 20 to 48 strings.