ST JOHN'S DAY SONGS

ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR 
CONDUCTOR – KASPARS PUTNIŅŠ
CHOREOGRAPH – MÄRT AGU

VIDEO PRODUCTION – GLOBAL PRODUCTIONS 
SOUND ENGINEER – SIIM MÄESALU (ESTONIAN PUBLIC BROADCASTING)
MUSIC RECORDED IN JULY 2020, IN ESTONIAN PUBLIC BROADCASTING, TALLINN

VELJO TORMIS
3 SONGS FROM CYCLE ST. JOHN’S DAY SONGS / JAANILAULUD 
II Call to the Midsummer Bonfire II / Kutse jaanitulele II
IV Why we look forward to St. John’s arrival / Miks Jaani oodatakse? 
V St. John’s Horse / Jaani hobu 

Music video of three St. John’s Day Songs by Veljo Tormis was filmed in August 2020 in Estonian Open Air Museum, Tallinn with the idea to celebrate the 90th birthday of one of the most important Estonian choral music composer Veljo Tormis. 

The cycle St. John’s Day Songs is part of Estonian Calendar Songs (1966-67), which is one of Tormis’s major works for chorus, including five cycles and altogether 29 songs for choruses about the annual round and the shared rhythms of man and nature. All songs and cycles can be performed individually: 1. Martinmas Songs (Mardilaulud) for male chorus, 2.  St. Catherine’s Day Songs (Kadrilaulud) for female chorus, 3. Shrovetide Songs (Vastlalaulud) for male chorus, 4.  Swing Songs (Kiigelaulud) for female chorus and 5. St. John’s Day Songs (Jaanilaulud) for mixed chorus.

Each of the five groups of songs is concerned with the seasonal rituals and feasts of ancient farming people. The set culminates in the jubilant St. John’s Day Songs (Jaanilaulud) describing the light midsummer night’s festivities around the maypole. In them the male and female choruses form a magic contrast and together produce a beautiful sound that is both original and unusual.