Final Concert with Revalia, Hirvo Surva, and Veljo Tormis!
At the end of every tour, you always “can’t believe that it’s almost over” and the same can be said about the UW Baltic Choir Tour. On Wednesday, we walked in the snow to Mustpeada Maja (Tallinn) which was built in the 14th Century. We were very privileged to share a concert with the Revalia Men’s Chorus who visited Seattle in the fall. They shared with us a couple of songs from Estonia’s first song festival in 1869. The Chorale dedicated their performance of “Laulusild” to Veljo Tormis who came to our concert! What a moment to perform for the most venerated living Estonian composer! Another moving moment was the Chamber Singers’ performance of “The Waking” composed by our very own Giselle Wyers.
We have grown a lot this past week as tour ensembles-learning to listen to each other in a new space; standing in different formations depending on the room and acoustics; and trusting each other in a way that led to new musical experiences. The amazing thing of going on tour is the opportunity to take the shared experience of each day into the music making. Wonderful things happened artistically; a connectedness of mind/spirit that brought out different aspects of the music at each performance.
Revalia joined us in singing “Ave Mater and Ave Pater” by Estonia’s Rene Espere. It was a visceral experience to have the force of their sound behind us! To close the evening, Hirvo Surva (Revalia’s famous conductor and 2011 Song Festival Conductor) led the UW Touring Choir, Revalia, and Vox Populi (from our previous concert) in the singing of Tormis’ “Laulu Algus”: “Listen! One country away there started a song on the beaches of Estonia. . .I went to practice my voice, to sound my voice on a mountain, to get into a celebratory mood, raising the spirits of the people. . .I want to sing in the tongue of this land. Where my beautiful home is. . .” Many of us had the opportunity to sing this song with Revalia and Surva when they toured the Pacific Northwest in the fall. However, it was almost a life-changing experience to sing this song this time in Estonia, with Estonians, for Estonians. You could feel and sense the passion in Surva’s conducting. It was if he was conducting the Estonian Song Festival choir of thousands and the generations of singers who came before us. The song, “Laulu Algus” which brought the Estonian community together under a time of oppression, now brings the global community together in celebration of friendship and joy.
