By Anneli Reigas
150 years since first song celebration was organised in Estonia in 1969 capital of Estonia - Tallinn is filled again with tens of thousands singers from all Estonian counties to perform this weekend in front of over 100 000 people.
The biggest choir will consist of 25 000 (yes, 25 000!) singers dressed mostly into beautiful national costumes and singing under one conductor per every song.
Ten years ago in summer 2009 when I wrote an article for Agence France-Presse about the song and dance celebration tradition in Estonia my Canadian editor from our regional AFP office expressed her delight for reading my song celebration story but then said she corrected my story as it included an "error" claiming there are 20 000 singers in one choir performing under just one conductor. She was amazed 2000 singers - that she thought was correct number - can perform in one choir and give full program concerts on 2 days. When she finally realized I had not made mistake and it's not two thousand but really twenty thousand singers singing together in one choir it was a nice moment.
Song and dance celebrations are part of Estonians identity, music is international language and the days we attend these extraordinary music celebrations make us forget about disputes and struggles and corrupted officials and some two-faced politicians - even ifif so of them take stage for welcoming remarks.
You can join song and dance celebrations in Estonia with 2 and 3 years interval because both adult song and dance celebration and youth song and dance celebrations with twenty thousand and more singers in one choir are organized every five years. So your next chance after current 2019 song celebration in Tallinn will be in 2022 (more young singers) and in 2024 (more adult singers).
For program on July 4-7, 2019 and and related info please check the festival official web site https://2019.laulupidu.ee/en/
150 years since first song celebration was organised in Estonia in 1969 capital of Estonia - Tallinn is filled again with tens of thousands singers from all Estonian counties to perform this weekend in front of over 100 000 people.
The biggest choir will consist of 25 000 (yes, 25 000!) singers dressed mostly into beautiful national costumes and singing under one conductor per every song.
Ten years ago in summer 2009 when I wrote an article for Agence France-Presse about the song and dance celebration tradition in Estonia my Canadian editor from our regional AFP office expressed her delight for reading my song celebration story but then said she corrected my story as it included an "error" claiming there are 20 000 singers in one choir performing under just one conductor. She was amazed 2000 singers - that she thought was correct number - can perform in one choir and give full program concerts on 2 days. When she finally realized I had not made mistake and it's not two thousand but really twenty thousand singers singing together in one choir it was a nice moment.
Song and dance celebrations are part of Estonians identity, music is international language and the days we attend these extraordinary music celebrations make us forget about disputes and struggles and corrupted officials and some two-faced politicians - even ifif so of them take stage for welcoming remarks.
You can join song and dance celebrations in Estonia with 2 and 3 years interval because both adult song and dance celebration and youth song and dance celebrations with twenty thousand and more singers in one choir are organized every five years. So your next chance after current 2019 song celebration in Tallinn will be in 2022 (more young singers) and in 2024 (more adult singers).
For program on July 4-7, 2019 and and related info please check the festival official web site https://2019.laulupidu.ee/en/
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