Creativity and “Right Singing”: Aural Experience and Embodiment of Heritage

Abstract

This article elaborates on the embodiment of heritage via singing practices in two different communities of cultural practitioners in present-day Estonia: a distinct local community and a folk music festival scene. The aural experience of singing serves as an exemplary representation of how the abstract concept of cultural heritage is perceived and put into practice. However, our analysis does not single out individual singer subjectivities or performative situations but traces a larger discursive context defined by the process of heritage production and historical collections of folklore texts. We study the discourse of expressive culture as canonized heritage that both empowers and constrains modern performers. The prescriptive and contested definition of “right” singing is discussed through fundamental oppositions involving tradition, copying, and innovation, with an attempt to understand the creative dynamics deployed.