On the evening of Wednesday, January 8th, Veljo Tormis' Laulusumm visited the university town of Tartu. Folk musician and musicologist Ants Johanson, along with singer, choir conductor, and folk music teacher Celia Roose, guided the Tartu Students' Mixed Choir on a journey tracing Tormis' path. The experience included fascinating stories from the composer's life (for example, did you know what kind of a driver was Veljo Tormis?) as well as a wealth of regilaul.

Under Celia Roose's guidance, the choir singers and other interested participants, gathered into a suitably large group of around 80 people, learned selected pieces from Tormis' cycle "13 Estonian Lyric Folk Songs," as well as fragments from "Livonian Heritage" and "Ingrian Evenings."

The chief conductor of the Tartu Students' Mixed Choir, Küllike Joosing, commented on singing evening as follows: "Tormis' Laulusumm was a very inspiring, educational, and eye-opening event. Such a safe and creative environment for multi-voiced singing, where no sheet music is used, and everything happens under Celia Roose's engaging guidance and leadership, could be organized more often to maintain a lively connection with the performance traditions of Veljo Tormis' works. My personal experience with the Laulusumm was how the perception of Tormis' music was achieved in a much simpler and more natural way than when using sheet music – just by singing together and trusting one another."

The Tartu Students' Mixed Choir was delighted to host the organizers along many interested participants in the Karlova school hall, where they performed Tormis' multi-layered vocal pieces to kick off the composer's jubilee year. In addition to events in Kõrveaia, Kaikamäe, Pärnu, Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Hiiumaa Folk, and the Estonian Cultural Days in New York, Laulusumm has now undeniably made its way through Tartu, bringing a surge of inspiration which is hoped to continue in the future.

Article author: Liis Rull

Supporter: Cultural Endowment of Estonia