Song Festivals Research Articles

A song for Cornwall (Kan Rag Kernow): a study of musicians and translators working on Cornish/Kernewek lyrics for international song festivals

ABSTRACT In the British region of Cornwall, state intervention in long-standing practices of the translation of music lyrics for song competitions has created major shifts, including remarkable competitive successes. Proponents of the Kernewek (Cornish) Language have long used translated musical lyrics as a tool for language revival, especially in annual song competitions, like the Pan Celtic festival. Cornish musicians – who, with few exceptions, cannot speak Kernewek – work with volunteer translators to produce songs for competitions for audiences who also rarely speak Kernewek. This essay is built upon ethnographic fieldwork in Cornwall among language enthusiasts and musicians, as well as on recent interviews with musicians and translators who have competed in the Pan Celtic and similar festivals. It demonstrates a conscious use of language by non-fluent speakers to build identity and community among Cornish people and to promote the recognition of Cornwall’s distinctiveness outside of the region. This builds upon previous work on metalinguistic community (Avineri and Harasta 2021) and ethnolinguistic infusion (Benor, Krasner, and Avni 2020), demonstrating the complex and important impact of state funding and coordination to increase the recognition and scope of use of the language.

Ресайклинг советской эстрады в телешоу «Голос»

The article explores how The Voice re-actualizes the Soviet era songs and symbols. The nature of the show’s interaction with Soviet culture is traced through five parameters: the geography of the participants, the repertoire, the figure of one of the mentors, voice timbres, and specifics of interpretation. The Voice, like the all Union song festivals of the Soviet era, strives for geographical pervasiveness and maximum ethnic diversity within the project. This diversity, however, turns out to be very conditional. It does not imply musical immersion into different cultures, but is limited to a linguistic, and, at most, arranging reworking of the titular nation’s culture. Among the Soviet pop music themes, in the highest demand in the show are dramatic love ballads, songs about nature, and compositions about the artist’s fate. Alexander Gradsky, being one of the mentors, gave newly found relevance to the half-forgotten hits of the Soviet time, creating a new image of the Soviet music stage, far from sterile piety and emotional restraint. The analysis of participants’ timbres and the peculiarities of their vocal technique shows that The Voice brings back the fashion for trained, powerful and velvety voices of the Soviet estrada. Another trait noticed was the two vectors of the performing interpretation of Soviet pop songs. Most of the contestants tend to become completely identical, indistinguishable from the original (canonical) version of the song, while only few dare to radically rethink the Soviet-time songs, striving to show their originality and uniqueness by significantly changing the well-known music.

THE SONG CELEBRATION AS POWER OF CULTURAL MEMORY AND A MISSION OF MODERNITY

Following the publication of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention in 2003, and its entry into force in 2006, the Song Celebration tradition and symbolism in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was added to the intangible cultural property. The tradition of the Song festivals, inspired by the protestant culture, has become an integral part of the Baltic States’ identity. The Song festivals were created to demonstrate the diversity of heritage and national history; now they also make efforts to modernise cultural practice, which is passed on from generation to generation, and they still retain the positive, immediate, uniting and mobilising function that is essential for the survival of the nation. Declaring national identity and creativity, the Song and Dance Celebration of the Baltic States reflects their patriotic and historical barriers, ideological conformism, and cultural maturity. What is the common reality of the Song and Dance Celebration as a national cultural priority in all the three Baltic States? It is the programme, the participants, a developed tradition, the creative, ideological and artistic value, the relationship with the media, the role of innovation in the television broadcasts and online communication – all this forms just a small part of topicalities related to the Celebration that requires attention, evaluation and reflection. The article studies the tradition of the Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration as a multifaceted phenomenon, viewing it through the prism of contemporary cultural discourse. Following the French philosopher Michel de Certeau, the article examines the Lithuanian Song Celebration as a modern cultural phenomenon, which shapes our collective representations of the past and imports our traditional cultural heritage into the cities. The Song Celebration is also defined as a site of memory (lieux de mémoire) the significance of which is outlined by the French historian Pierre Nora, and which is used to strengthen the national authority and promote patriotism. It is also analysed as a practice of cultural memory (kulturelles Gedächtnis), which helps to reconstruct cultural identity and foster self-reflexive processes, as the German researchers Jan and Aleida Assmann claim. However, it can be observed that in recent decades many global memory projects integrate similar memory practices in transnational networks around the world. Besides, in the context of globalism, a very intense visual culture has emerged including a multitude of festivals and spectacles requiring revision and updating of the Song Celebration concept, which would allow us speak openly and boldly about the interpretation of the traditional culture and create new models of communication, without turning the Celebration into a commodity product, and finding original ways to discover a deeper meaning of ethnic culture.

초등학교 음악 교과서에 수록된 창작동요제 수상곡의 양상 분석 연구

Objectives Looking back at the 100-year history of creative children's songs, the ‘Children's Song Festival’ proves to have had a great influence on the development of children songs. The first purpose of this study is to investigate all Children's Song Festival winning songs included in elementary school music textbooks according to the educational curriculum change. The second purpose is to analyze the aspects of those winning songs published in music textbooks. Methods To do so, this study conducted a combination of literature reviews and research study methods, and analyzed Children's Song Festival winning songs in music textbooks. These songs were those that were included in 3~6 grade elementary school music textbooks from the fifth curriculum period (1987~1991) until the current 2015 revised curriculum; meaning all winning songs in elementary school music textbooks since the first Children's Song Festival of 1983 were analyzed. Results First, an analysis on ‘Children's Creative Song Festival Winning Songs and Number of Songs’ shows that out of the total 96 winning songs, the majority of winning songs were from the MBC Children's Song Festival - a total of 69 songs (71.9%). Second, upon analyzing the ‘Number of Times Festival Winning Songs were Published’, it was found that the number increased as the curriculum changed and as textbooks went up to an older grade level. The textbook publisher ‘Genius Education’ had the most winning songs within their textbooks - a total of 43 times (15.8%) were winning songs published. Third, after analyzing the ‘Name and Number of Overlapping Winning Songs’, it was revealed that there were 51 overlapping songs, the song that was published multiple times in music textbooks was <On a Train Ride> from the 1st KBS Children's Song Festival - a total of 13 times. The songs <Island Village> and <Walking in the Woods> were published 11 & 10 times respectively - both songs were from the 4th MBC Children's Song Festival. Songs that are continuously included in music textbooks are <On a Train Ride> and <Walking in the Woods>. Conclusions The act of singing creative children songs gives children hope, courage, the chance to dream, and holds an educational meaning that allows them to experience the beauty of music. Thus, continuing discovery and supply of creative children's songs are of great significance. Since Children's Song Festivals, which has played a huge role in the development of creative children's songs, are no longer as common as before, a new developing method that fits current society criteria must be sought out.

The lyrics of the songs “Coco livre” and “Taquarulua”- poetry, culture and imaginary

This article analyzes the lyrics of the songs “Coco Livre”, on the CD Brasís: as canções e o povo (1998), by Genésio Tocantins, and “Taquarulua”, on the CD Taquarulua (2009), by Dorivã, exploring the words that relate to local culture, poetry and the imaginary of Tocantins. Genésio Tocantins began his musical career in the 1970s and Dorivã a decade later, around the 1980s. The two artists have been active in the art and culture of the state of Tocantins for over 40 years, participating in and winning several song festivals in the state and around Brazil, as well as being invited to international events to represent Tocantins and the Brazilian music. The guiding question asks whether the lyrics of the analyzed songs address regional themes and can be considered representatives of regional music. Following on from this, it is our intention to discuss how these themes can be acknowledged as identity and cultural representations present in the imaginary of the state of Tocantins. The main objective is to present the two Tocantins musicians and their musical productions, specifically the lyrics of the songs mentioned above. The theorists that support this reflection are: Cândido (1995), Compagnon (2001), Hall (2015), and Moraes (2000).

Being Soviet and Lithuanian: song festivals as emotional events to induce a hybrid identity

ABSTRACT The article analyzes a highly popular phenomenon of the Soviet Lithuanian national culture: the song and dance festivals, regularly organized since 1946. The phenomenon was prevalent in the mass culture until the end of the Soviet era. Following occupation by the USSR in 1940, in order to build a bridge between Soviet and national identity, the Soviet Lithuanian administration promoted song festivals as emotional events to generate a hybrid synthesis of the Soviet ideas and the national elements. Based on both the national tradition and Soviet cultural policies, these events helped blend the national and the Soviet experiences.

International Song Festivals and Musicians’ Sense of the World—Inter-Asian Perspective and Eurasian Imagination in the Study of Korean Popular Song during the Cold War

International Song Festivals and Musicians’ Sense of the World—Inter-Asian Perspective and Eurasian Imagination in the Study of Korean Popular Song during the Cold War

On the Origins of Canzone Napoletana: Studying the Genre

The purpose of this article is to understand Canzone Napoletana in the context of a centuries-old national song culture. Today, the concept of Neapolitan song refers to a clearly defined layer of vocal culture with specific characteristics. The beginning of its history dates back to the 1830s, the time of the organization of the Festa di Piedigrotta song festivals. This study attempts to expand the traditional view of Neapolitan song as a phenomenon exclusively in the last decades of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.Research Methodology. This article is based on the traditional research methods, the leading of which are historical and genre.Results. The earliest references to the song culture of the peoples of the Apennine Peninsula date back to the 13th century. In the 1530s, the first collections of madrigals and villanelles, a genre of songs born directly in Naples, appeared. Its integration character is revealed through the unification of folk and composer lines as integral features of Italian vocal music. The specifics of the culture of the southern regions of the Apennine Peninsula and its role in shaping the poetic and music style of the Italian Renaissance are emphasized. The role of Villanella as a mega-generator, that became the mouthpiece of the Italian style in European music of the 16–17th centuries, is defined. In the evolution of national genres of songs, Canzone Napoletana is considered the next stage that inherits the frottola — villanelle — madrigal line.The novelty lies in thorough understanding of the inner unity of Italian song culture. Canzone Napoletana at the turn of the 19–20th centuries is considered part of the evolutionary process, which comes from carnival songs of the Middle Ages, through villanelles and madrigals of the 15–16th centuries, the Baroque opera style, until its heyday.The practical significance. Studying the origin of Canzone Napoletana enables to gain greater insight into these evolutionary processes, explaining the phenomenon of this genre of song at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Stalinizmas ir etnokultūros institucionalizavimas. Pirmoji Dainų šventė sovietinėje Lietuvoje 1946 m.

decided to re-establish the tradition of song festivals and organize the first such festival in 1946; and to what extent the implementation of the said idea was successful. Analysis of the history of the first Soviet song festival and circumstances surrounding the preparation for the event is based on the little known or practically unknown documents kept in the archives of Lithuania and the Russian Federation. The government of Lithuania viewed the organization of the “first Soviet song festival” as a possibility to demonstrate its concern with Lithuanian folk culture, its development, and promotion. This kind of policy was intended to strengthen the legitimacy of the Soviet government and make it seem more “Lithuanian”. The fact that Lithuanian folk culture helped spread the new Soviet ideology also cannot be ignored. The song festival was not only amply decorated with Soviet symbols, attempts were made to couple the attributes of the Soviet culture with the values of folk culture. On the other hand, organizing the festival the leadership of Soviet Lithuania wanted to show that the Soviet political regime can be in “harmony” with Lithuanian ethno-culture and the new government was a natural successor of former ethnic traditions. However, alone, without the approval of the Lithuanian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the support from Moscow, the government of Lithuania was unable to organize the festival. This suggests that the leadership of the Soviet Union was rather tolerant to the manifestations of “national Communism” not only in the countries of Central Europe that fell under Moscow’s influence but also in Lithuanian SSR. Besides, the decision to organize the festival in Vilnius was not a random one. Crowds of singers that came to the city from all around Lithuania changed its national composition – Vilnius for once became more Lithuanian. This not only demonstrated the government’s aspiration to show off its “Lithuanian” nature but also its ambition to make Vilnius the centre of Lithuanian (Soviet) culture. Finally, the government of LSSR was satisfied with the organization and course of the festival and believed that it managed to achieve its goals and objectives. Probably the success of the first Soviet song festival resulted in them being organized periodically.

Festivalide funktsioon kodu- ja eksiileesti kultuurisuhtluse kujunemisloos / Role of cultural festivals in the development of cultural relations between the Estonian homeland and diaspora

Festivalide funktsioon kodu- ja eksiileesti kultuurisuhtluse kujunemisloos / Role of cultural festivals in the development of cultural relations between the Estonian homeland and diaspora

ESTONIAN SONG CELEBRATION MOVEMENT AND ITS LEADERS: THE STORY OF TUUDUR VETTIK

1. Introduction The fact that the Song Celebrations form an important part of the Estonian culture, and constitute a pillar of our national identity is obvious to everyone in Estonia. Sadly, this is where it ends. We have become used to viewing our Song Celebrations as single cultural events, while their broader context as the Song Celebration Movement is often neglected. My article focuses on the Estonian Song Celebration Movement, as well as on the activities of Tuudur Vettik, who played an important role in shaping it. Did Vettik indeed become the leader of the Song Celebration Movement, and what contributed to this? Tuudur Vettik is by no means unknown in historical research; however, he has been pushed to the sidelines. Information about his life and creative work reached research papers in 1988, at the dawn of the Singing Revolution. The role of Vettik in Estonian music life has been researched by Helju Tauk (Tauk 1988:89), and Urve Lippus (Lippus 2002:7-78). Lippus highlights the strong ties between Vettik and the Estonian national culture, music, and patriotic ideas. In her book, Urve Lippus points out the need to broaden the source basis of research, among other things, and puts emphasis on memoirs as valuable sources besides the archival and press materials (Lippus 2011:9-10). Maris Mannik-Kirme has done a remarkable job in returning Tuudur Vettik to the Estonian culture. She has studied the activities of Tuudur Vettik and Mart Saar in enriching Estonian choir music (Mannik-Kirme 1982:219-234), and has published a factological review of Tuudur Vettik's biography, as well as a list of his works (Mannik 1990). Unfortunately, these analyses reproduce some incorrect facts from earlier studies concerning to Vettik's birthplace and birthdates, which are very important biographical data (Randjarv 2012:26). Generalisations have also slipped in. In my research of Tuudur Vettik, I have scrutinised the relevant literature, news publications, and archival materials (the results of which, however, only serve as the background for this article). I have also set great store by the memoirs of Vettik's contemporaries, and people connected to the Song Celebration Movement, as well as the handwritten notes and journals in private archives. The latter sources throw a light on the developments and intrigues not discussed elsewhere, as well as on what went on during the organisation of Song Celebrations. Well-known choir conductors and teachers have been interviewed by the author (Randjarv 2012:157-226). The incentive for writing this article came from a recent article by Hain Rebas, which once again pointed out the erroneous interpretations, gaps, and insufficiently researched questions surrounding the Song Celebration Movement (Rebas 2016/1:129-150). 2. Song Celebration Movement 2.1. General facts The historical and cultural studies describe the regular Song Celebrations as extremely important and ceremonious cultural events; yet the relevant repertoire policy, criteria for selecting the Head Conductors, activities of the choirs during the intervals of the Song Celebrations, events for different types of choirs, repertoire training for conductors, but also interpersonal conflicts, intrigues and cooperation, dependency on the national budgetary policy, and ideological trends have not been analysed as organic components of the phenomenon, but rather as a purely illustrative and emotional background. The Song Celebration Movement has several particular features that allow it to mould, and be moulded by social developments. The most important among these is the development of a social network. Although the Song Celebrations as events have been the most visible and important feature of our choir history, their role cannot be viewed apart from their foundations--the history of the Estonian choir culture, and our societies movement. I use the term Song Celebration Movement to signify a higher integrated system where the content and the format of the work, including the repertoire policy, clearly follow the seasonal cycle of the work plans of the national as well as county level song festivals, and those for specific choir types, the preliminary singing competitions (for categorisation), and eventually also the working plans of the choirs. …

Latviešu mūzikas grupa "Čikāgas piecīši" kultūru krustcelēs

The article discusses the continued relevance of the Čikāgas Piecīši (The Chicago Five), an American-Latvian musical-comedy troupe that toured Latvian exile communities and performed in Soviet and post-Soviet Latvia over the span of some fifty years. It asks the question: Given the diverse and contentious nature of their global audiences, how did the Čikāgas Piecīši sustain their appeal and their authority as spokespersons for Latvians worldwide? Five sources fundamental to their success are identified and analysed. In their concerts, the Čikāgas Piecīši offered a lively new form of social communication to their audiences. While their biographies connected them with the culture and values of their elders, the cultural authenticity they brought to the stage foregrounded Latvian and American experiences and presented a more inclusive worldview than the one they had inherited. As they gently challenged prevailing boundaries, including those that forbade contact with Soviet Latvia, they changed the register for speaking about Latvian exile life by adding humour to the accustomed solemnity of community programming. Their work extended the notion of intertextuality beyond that of verbal texts to include musical sounds and images. My sources derive from participant-observation over many years, both in the Latvian community in Indianapolis and at Latvian Song Festivals in North America where the performances of the Čikāgas Piecīši were regular crowd pleasers. I consulted reviews and interviews published in the U.S. and in Latvia, articles in exile publications (such as the literary journal Jaunā Gaita), and conducted interviews with members of the group.

The Estonian song celebration (Laulupidu) as an instrument of language policy

ABSTRACTThere is an established body of literature surveying the role of language policy in identity construction. This paper exposes an angle that has been understudied. It suggests that national song festivals may be seen as a tool of ‘implicit’ language policy in Estonia. Informed by expert interviews and ethnographic, this study explores the tensions arising from the dual function of the festival. On the one hand, it sustains the language as the central ethnic-national attribute of Estonians. On the other hand, the ‘affective solidarity’ stemming from joint singing could support a stronger civic attachment to the language and state (by Russian-speaking minorities).

Estonia

The Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik ) is in the Baltic region of Northern Europe (figures 1⇓–3). This wonderful country (no bias) is bordered to the north by the...

Terra dos Pássaros: a permanência de elementos da contracultura na produção de Toninho Horta nos anos de 1970

Esse artigo apresenta uma análise da produção do compositor e instrumentista Toninho Horta, com enfoque em sua atuação ao longo dos anos 1970 e no processo de elaboração de seu disco inaugural, Terra dos Pássaros, lançado de forma independente, em 1979. Tendo como ponto de partida a MPB e os festivais da canção, em fins dos anos 1960, em um contexto marcado pelo regime autoritário e pela consolidação da indústria cultural, procuramos discutir a permanência de elementos ligados à contracultura na produção de Toninho Horta, perceptíveis em seu discurso, em seu processo criativo e no conteúdo de suas canções, durante os anos 1970. Levamos em consideração a correspondência entre sua concepção musical, ligada a uma dimensão lúdica e "informal", com outras produções, como a do chamado Clube da Esquina e do coletivo de poesia Nuvem Cigana, com os quais Toninho Horta estabeleceu relações. O estudo dessas produções pode contribuir para a compreensão de transformações da canção popular brasileira, durante os anos 1970.

Kolm tuld: Jüriöö, võidupüha, laulupidu [Abstract: Three fires: St. George’s Night, Victory Day and the Song Festival

The subject of this article is the relationship between cultural memory and national identity, and ritualistic activities and symbols as a medium for this relationship. Joint ritual activities – functioning as national symbols contained within and also transmitting cultural memory – are the constructers of national identity. Commemorations and celebrations as ritual actions affirm a sense of community, but they can also be used for ideological purposes. The use of the symbols strengthens the impact of rituals, and therefore the symbols are concentrated expressions of national identity. In this article, I have analyzed three rituals which are transmitted through Estonian cultural memory: the Uprising of St. George’s Night (Jüriöö ülestõus) and the celebrations of Victory Day and the Song Festival. I have paid particular attention to fire – as fire is a central symbol of all three rituals. I have observed how St. George’s Night and Victory Day are preserved in cultural memory and how their survival is ensured. In the case of the Song Festival I have focused on the event itself, as it has been preserved. In addition, I have paid attention to the propagandistic writings and newspaper articles accompanying these rituals. There is little historical information about the St. George’s Night Uprising, so the festivities have a literary origin. Victory Day is celebrated as a victory over the Baltic Landwehr (Baltische Landeswehr) in the Estonian War of Independence in 1919. This victory did not end the war, but its importance lies in the victory over an historical enemy – Germans. Both events are part of the “Estonians great struggle for freedom” narrative that forms the struggles against the Germans into one coherent story. The Estonian Song Festival is one of the basic national myths, characterized by the term “singing oneself into a nation”. Through the Song Festivals, the nineteenth century rise in national self-consciousness found a means to express and introduce its objectives. The new “awakening” a hundred and twenty years later symbolically took the first one as a model and tied the two together. Using fire as a symbol in all these practices allows us to compare these events. In glorifying and justifying, texts draw out the symbolic meanings attributed to the celebrations. Fire refers to continuity and unity. Unity is important in two aspects: it involves both the direct and symbolic unity of people, but also a bond reaching over time – past, present and future are linked together. But fire is also seen as a symbol of victory. Victory is directly related to the celebration of Victory Day, and “liberation through singing” can also be seen as a victory. These rituals are the result of socio-political changes and have transformed over time, but their essence has remained unchanged. All these rituals have gone through different political conditions and the “remembering” or “forgetting” has been closely linked to the governing regime. Different meanings are attributed to symbols associated with the rituals. The Upraising of St. George’s Night has been celebrated in pre-war Estonian Republic, during the Soviet era and in re-independent Estonia. However, the basis of the celebration was quite different during the Soviet era from what it was and is in the Estonian Republic. Victory Day as a moment of victory in Estonia’s struggle for freedom was not celebrated during the Soviet occupation. The Song Festival has been maintained throughout various authorities, and ideological demands has continued as a national ritual. All three practices are continually in service of Estonia’s national identity. KEYWORDS: symbol, ritual, national identity, cultural memory, The Uprising of St. George’s Night, Victory Day, Song Festival, Estonia.

‘Singing oneself into a nation’? Estonian song festivals as rituals of political mobilisation

AbstractThis article argues that Estonian song festivals were a powerful ritual of political mobilisation. Throughout their history, however, they had to be accommodated to narratives of ruling regimes. Taking Patrick Hutton's concept of such events as a ‘moment of memory’ with which images of the past are being reconstructed in a selective way, song festivals are on each occasion made to suit present needs. During the history of Estonian nationhood, these needs have been guided first and foremost by forms of political authority: during years of independence, the festivals were to serve different purposes than under imperial or Soviet Russian rule. Thus, the concept of ‘singing oneself into a nation’, popular in Estonian history textbooks, is only partly true. Although the performance of the festival changes only slightly through the years, its political significance changes enormously.

Daugiaplanė Katalikų Bažnyčios vargonininko profesija : tradicijų pastovumas ir kaita

Straipsnyje siekiama apžvelgti profesinį bažnyčios vargonininko kelią Lietuvoje nuo XIX a. paskutinių dešimtmečių iki šių dienų, išryškinti socialinius veiksnius, lėmusius bažnyčios vargonininko profesijos raidą, išskirti tradicijų kintamumo ir pastovumo tendencijas, atskleisti profesijos daugiaplanį pobūdį. Multifunkcionalumas būdingas daugumai muziko profesijų, bet tai ypač taikytina bažnyčios vargonininko profesijai. Šis straipsnis – kultūrinės plėtros projekto „Atlikėjo polifunkcionalumas muzikiniuose, kultūriniuose ir socialiniuose procesuose“, finansuojamo Lietuvos mokslo tarybos (sutarties nr. MIP-095/2013), dalis.

Isamaalaulud ja okupatsioonirežiim – nostalgia, utoopia ja reaalsus. Estonian Patriotic Songs and the Occupational Regime – Nostalgia, Utopia and Reality

Estonian knowledge of history emanates from the fact that constituting an independent nation has for the most part been nothing but a utopia, and was a reality for a relatively short time. When it comes to selfidentification though, the expression ’a singing people’ is often used by the Estonians to describe themselves. Nostalgia for freedom is reflected in the Estonian culture of almost all periods and is carried on by the singing tradition, where patriotic songs emerge independent of different musical tastes within a particular generation and form an important part of a common Estonian repertoire. Patriotic songs occupy a central place in several fields of Estonian culture: besides music culture also in popular culture,and literary history – the works of poetry which have gained the most popularity are those which when put to music have been the most widely spread among the people. The main part of the most popular Estonian patriotic songs are choral songs from the national awakening at the end of the 19th century. Despite the national programmes aiming to wipe out ‘bourgeois nationalism’, they were sung at the song festivals in the Soviet era and were published in song books, expressing the people’s nostalgia for freedom lost. After the end of the Second World War, there was an attempt at launching a kind of patriotic new creation, where patriotism was merged with Soviet pathos; the aim was to show that the people’s utopia was in fact communism, but not a single one of those songs made it into the people’s common repertoire. Only the patriotic songs composed in the 1980s during the so-called new national awakening reached a popularity comparable to that of the old songs. The discourse on ’Estonianness’ and the shaping of a matching repertoire under imperial Russian rule took place under very different circumstances than its preservation and development in the second half of the 20th century under Soviet occupation, but certain aspects that help shed light on what followed can be pointed out. Through the events that took place during the national awakening, emphasis was placed on Russia’s role in the formation and development of the Estonian people, where cultural figures devoted to the people – such as Lydia Koidula - and their work were supported; patriotic songs were at the core of their activities. Formally, the patriotic repertoire was close to the characteristics of the only permitted art style in the Soviet Union – socialist realism : both are folksy, traditional, typical, historicist, pathetic and optimistic. At the same time it can be assumed that when the ruling power didn’t allow or tolerate even the most miniscule of deviances from the official line in no sphere of life, they had to make this official line concede in certain superficial manners to the real customs and endeavours of the people, in order to guarantee its own authority. So the patriotic repertoire remained, but the official treatment of its nostalgia and utopia was different than that of the people. The Soviet authorities’ strategy to achieve their aims – to level out and assimilate peoples and cultures – shaped the Estonian national identity and culture in a crucial manner: the patriotic songs were preserved because they were a permitted phenomenon through which the ideas forbidden in other areas could be expressed, and resistance to the ideological pressure helped preserve the Estonian people’s cultural memory. It can thus be claimed that the patriotic tinge which to this day can be sensed in the Estonian singing tradition is a result of Estonia’s political history.

ANTHROPOLOGY OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY: ESTONIAN NATIONAL AWAKENING REVISITED

Nations are bound together by remembering and forgetting, and past is often purposefully altered by means of invention or amnesia. Circumstances, culture and society constrain the ways we employ our and recall history. Since the 1980s, anthropology and other social sciences have increasingly focused on the constructed nature of collective and its political implications. According to Lowenthal (1996), such shift in the social scientific focus was partly due to the fact that many nations became possessed by the past. This was certainly true about Eastern Europe in the 1990s. The decade was marked by an outburst of nationalism, search for ethnic identity and what one might call memory-work, an attempt to establish links between the past and the present to legitimise political changes. Today's Eastern Europe is more preoccupied with its future, as membership in the European Union is imminent for many countries. Nation (re)building almost complete and pragmatism triumphing over patriotism, it is a safe moment to study collective and its politics in a broader and less emotional framework. In this paper I will use an lens to look at collective and scrutinise certain aspects of the construction of Estonian nationhood in the nineteenth century from the perspective of anthropological understanding of collective identity formation and maintenance. I am particularly interested in the creation and functioning of what I call reservoirs of memory--institutions, cultural practices, or physical places, which carry in themselves meaningful history and thus serve as a trigger for memories and identities. I will focus on three of them--song festivals, oral history, and the attachment to land--to exemplify the ways that anthropological perspective can help us understand the politics of collective memory. On anthropological aspects of collective History resembles a crowded cemetery, where room must constantly be made for new tombstones, says a French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs (1980:52). It is everywhere a battleground for rival attachments, a field where, by discovering, correcting, elaborating, inventing, and celebrating their histories, competing groups struggle to validate present goals by appealing to continuity with or inheritance from ancestral and other precursors (Gathercole and Lowenthal 1990: 302). The past is thus subject to multiple interpretations and recallings. It is constantly altered by means of invention and forgetting, which, from the perspective of work or the censorship of memory in the psychoanalytic terminology (Le Goff 1992:94), are two sides of the same coin. Invention of Tradition, edited by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (1983), caused a major paradigm shift in the anthropological study of memory. If politics of collective did not constitute a particular focus of study earlier, Invention of Tradition set a power example, demonstrating the historically recent and inventive content of many national traditions, cultural elements and symbols, commonly regarded as old and autochthonous. Invention of the new automatically means forgetting about the old. Barnes (1947:52) has called such collective forgetting structural amnesia, which is another inevitable aspect of editing. (1) The collectiveness of carried by what Irwin-Zarecka (1994:47) has called a community of memory, makes the past especially powerful as the basis for collective identity. As Lowenthal (1985:xv) puts it, each particular trace of the past ultimately perishes, but collectively they are immortal. Whether it is celebrated or rejected, attended to or ignored, the past is omnipresent. The unity of the community of memory, based on a vague notion of the shared past, is, however, imagined, as there is no face-to-face interaction between past and present generations. In bigger societies, unity has to be imagined also with one's contemporaries. …