| Spiritual
Jazz group "Hüüd & Hääl" *
The musicians, belonging to the group,
have very
different musical backgrounds from early music and Gregorian chant to
classic,
jazz and pop. This is probably the cause of using very different styles
in arrangements (etno jazz, minimalism, folk, medieval song, west coast
pop). In the repertoire we have also some religious music of other
nations
(Irish songs, Negro spirituals etc.), which make a lovely comparison to
our own Estonian inheritance.
|
* The name of the group has
double meaning in Estonian. It could be translated as "Hail &
Sound",
representing acoustical terms. On the other hand, it equals to the
phrase
in Old Testament, Isaiah 40:3 - "A voice of one calling".
|
| Estonian
Spiritual Folk Hymns Through the Eyes of Jazz Musicians |
The emergence of the religious
folk song is a phenomenon that belongs mainly to the 18th century. A
majority
of melodies are variations
of Lutheran hymns, but texts from psalm books could also be sung, using
some
other older melody, even
runic songs. In the beginning of the 20th century young composers held
several
“expeditions” to
collect those songs and write them down. More than 500 religious folk
hymns
were stored.
Under the Soviet Rule
Estonian people were not allowed to sing those songs, and religious
hymns
were almost
forgotten. But in the
end of 1990s, when fresh winds started to blow, music historians
started
to talk about
them, and presently, little
by little, our nation is regaining the knowledge of having such a rich
inheritance of
spiritual culture. Very
few of those songs have been printed, so our group is one of the
enthusiasts,
who look
for the manuscripts in
the museums of music and literature, where they are presently
being
kept. By giving
those old hymns a modern
outfit, we would like to to point out that this music is not just a
dusty
piece of
history on a museum shelf,
but it is the beliefs, dreams and longings of our forefathers and
-mothers,
and that
we can relate to those
also in the 21st century.
|
