Day 13 - Festival Day 1
July 7, 2019 | EnsTour Blogger
What a powerful and inspiring experience today as we dove into the first official day of the Laulupidu (literally “Song-Party”)! The day began as our homestay families dropped us off at the Song Festival Grounds for one final rehearsal of the select choirs for this evening’s concert. After ascending and descending the massive steps of the Singing Arch to rehearse Arvo Pärt’s piece about Estonian beekeeping and agriculture and a few more of the traditional national songs, we took a lunch break with our homestays for a few hours. The clouds moved away over the gray waters of the Baltic sea, and we kept our fingers crossed that we might catch a glimpse of sunshine for our parade this afternoon!
In the early afternoon, we congregated in front of the twin spires of Kaarli kirkis (St Charles’s Church) for the parade - always one of the highlights of the Laulupidu experience! We fought our way through the massive crowds to our appointed spot, where we would line up with our host Aarne Saluveer and his Estonian Television Girls’ Choir. It is a tremendous honor to march in the middle of the Estonian ranks (the foreign choirs are normally in a separate part of the parade), and with our homestays in their beautiful traditional costumes of yellow woolen dresses, intricately woven tops, and of course, crowns of flowers. Some of our singers had gone out with their homestays to a nearby field to pick flowers and weave their own crowns, and as we waited for the parade to start there was much hair-braiding to match the traditional Estonian double braids. Aarne showed up in an enormous white coat and top hat on a scooter, capturing the hearts of his own choristers and ours. And, the weather even cooperated - the clouds parted, the sun came out, and we were able to march in gorgeous sunshine!
We began marching along the parade route from the Old Town of Tallinn to the Song Festival Grounds, situated northeast along the rim of the harbor. What an incredible and festive occasion it was! The stream of singers in traditional costume and waving Estonian flags was seemingly endless - thousands of choirs and over 33,000 singers in total. Every new choir that passed was met with a hearty cheer, as people of all ages waving Estonian flags lined the streets and the windows of the buildings overhead. Choirs spontaneously burst into song, with PEBCC offering “Let the River Run” and “Johnson Boys” alongside the Estonian festival songs. As we turned onto the coastal road we spotted several families and alums of the Laulupidu cheering us on to greet us, and there were several joyful reunions as singers rushed to greet their families and alums ran in to join the parade. Particularly special as we approached the Singing Arch was the moment when we spontaneously began singing Veljo Tormis’s “Modal Etudes” - an Estonian piece virtually all PEBCC singers learn in Concert Choir - and the ETV singers joined in! It was exhilarating to be swept up this display of love for the Estonian culture and the way choral singing has helped keep it alive.
After posing for some pictures with the beautiful statue of Gustav Ernesaks, one of the founding fathers of Estonian choral music and the composer of the unofficial national anthem, we headed once again into the dinner line of 33,000 to pick up our soup, bread, and barley ice cream. Then, it was the moment we had all been waiting for - the official opening concert! As all the singers swarmed up beneath the arch, they looked out on a sea of around 100,000 audience members spread out on the lawn, sitting on picnic blankets, crowding the perimeter, and filling every inch of the reserved seating in the front. The energy was electric as the festival flame was passed up the flame tower story by story, gradually making its way to the torch at the very top. The full choir burst into “Koit” (“Dawn”), the traditional first song of the festival, and as they held the majestic final chord the festival torch burst into flame. After a poignant rendition of the national anthem, in which the audience joined the choir in song, the concert portion began in earnest. A breathtaking array of choirs took part, singing a broad spectrum of Estonian choral music from different folk and classical traditions and time periods. The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra also offered a few selections by Estonian composers, which was a beautiful opportunity to highlight their stellar playing. Our kids took the stage for the select children’s choir piece by Arvo Pärt, which they performed with great energy, and the mezzo section even got some featured time on the giant screens that project the performances to the audience members in the back of the grounds. In between songs, they enjoyed the handicraft, musical, and food stalls set up all over the festival grounds.
It was around 10:30 pm when the full choir trooped back on stage for the final combined pieces. The sun was setting over the Baltic Sea, casting a gorgeous array of yellow, pink, and orange hues over the festival torch burning from the top of the tower. The first piece was “Üksi pole keegi,” based on the traditional Estonian regilaul (runic songs) and a particular favorite of the kids. A haunting melody is passed from soloist to choir to audience and back again, creating an unbroken chain of song. Singers and audience members took out their phone flashlights to sway back and forth as the melody soared - it was an absolutely magical moment. The choir cheered so hard that the conductor and composer came back for an encore. Two other joyful national songs followed, with the words broadcast up on the screens so that the audience could sing along. What an extraordinary experience to hear 133,000 people all singing together, swept up in the beauty of the moment. The evening ended with one final encore, “Kodumaa,” conducted by Neeme Järvi, another legend of Estonian music. As our singers came off stage, they were absolutely ecstatic - amazed at the power of the experience and honored and grateful to be part of this astonishing song celebration.
