Nr. 13
EESTI ELU neljapäeval, 1. aprillil 2021 — Thursday, April 1, 2021
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On remembering national traumas Raul Rebane, ERR, March 2021
Still from Edgar Väär’s video of Ivo Linna and Alo Mattiisen’s 1989 performance in Toronto.
Dine and reminisce with the heroes of the Singing Revolution for VEMU’s online fundraiser Vincent Teetsov On Friday the 23rd of April from 7:00 to 9:30 in the evening, join in for the annual VEMU fundraiser, together with Estonian Music Week, featuring the return of VEMU ÖÖTV. Naturally, this time around, the fundraiser will be held vir tually. However, that won’t do anything to stop us from having an great time. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of Estonia re gaining its independence, after all! Just as a sit-down dinner was prepared for previous fund raisers, this year, a take-out dinner will be made for guests by Ülle Veltmann, drawing from nostalgic recipes of the past. These fresh meals will be available for pickup at Tartu College a day before the event starts, with deliveries available within Toronto for an extra charge. For those who pay the ticket fee, a secret link will be sent. While you’re digging in, you’ll be invited to turn on your de vices and head over to VEMU’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/ VEMUESC) for insightful words from University of Tartu Pro fessor Marju Lauristin, who was closely involved with Estonia’s independence move ment from the beginning. Take a trip down memory lane through interviews and pre viously-unseen archival videos of this pivotal moment, when Estonians in Toronto witnessed their homeland regain its free dom. The festivities will conclude with music and recollections of the Singing Revolution from Ivo Linna and pianist Antti Kammiste. Though we may al ready know about these musi cians, here’s a bit of back ground in case you don’t. Ivo Linna gained notoriety in Estonia in the 1960s with bands like Müstikud, in the 70s with the band Apelsin, and then from the late 70s into the 80s with Rock Hotel. These groups had a
string of popular records pub lished by the Melodiya record label. Before starting his col laboration with Linna, Antti Kammiste had hit the stage as a keyboardist with In Spe. Linna and Kammiste’s visi bility in Estonia took on a whole new meaning, though, with the rising independence movement in 1988, which brought them both under the arch of the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn as Estonians sang for freedom. With the Rahvarinne (Esto nian Popular Front) starting to take shape in the spring of 1988, concerts were held across the country that would become well-known for advancing the cause of Estonian indepen dence. Composer Alo Mattiisen created the Viis isamaalist laulu (“Five Patriotic Songs”), which were first sung by Ivo Linna, In Spe, and Kiigelaulukuuik in May 1988 at the Tartu muusika päevad (Tartu Music Days festi val, 1979-1991). This emotional event, where crowds were gathered together, singing hand in hand, led to even more politi cal and musical events like this. The songs became beloved by all Estonians. That August, Ivo Linna and In Spe both played at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds for the Rock Summer Festival. Johnny Rotten’s band Public Image Ltd played a set as well. The crowning moment was on September 11th, 1988, when at least 100,000 people came back to the grounds for Eestimaa laul together to hear music and fervent speeches from Estonia’s independence activists. This was a time unlike any other in Estonia’s history. In a 2005 interview with Õhtuleht, Kammiste joked about how, at one of his and Ivo Linna’s con certs in Viljandi, the crowd was so loud that they could not hear themselves playing, despite being right in front of the speakers on stage. Just like The Beatles experienced with screaming fans.
Every nation must fight for its historical truth and the struggle is becoming more serious every day, Raul Rebane finds in Vikerraadio’s daily comment. I will never forget an Esto nian businessman’s idea of his tory. “What difference is there between deportations and Swedish banks, both took away my apartment!” he said. While it was painful listening to some one likening deportations to a bank foreclosing on an apart ment, it needs to be understood in context. He was hoping to do business with Russia and busi ness often does not have a memory. But people do. Time marches on and we have marked the passing of 80 years since the June 14, 1941 deportations and 72 years from the March 25, 1949 deportations. New generations grow up with new problems and these national disasters seem far away. Fewer and fewer people taken to Siberia survive and their stories are slowly fading away. My uncle Erich Ausmaa will turn 92 this summer. He was deported along with his family a week before his 12th birthday. He is a living symbol, a lovely and important person for all of us. It is our task to make sure the terrible things he went through, that his father, mother, uncles, brothers and sisters went through, are never forgotten, for family members of police men very seldom managed to escape Siberia, and even then mostly by happenstance. Why cannot we forget, one might ask. The deportations took place a long time ago, and these melancholy memories cannot cheer anyone up. While an individual is allowed this question, the nation is not. History has shown time and again that forgetting major psy chological trauma comes with the risk or repeating it. A Jew will not forget about the Holocaust, a Pole about Katyn, an Armenian about the geno cide, a Ukrainian about Holodo
mor, while the Baltic peoples and a lot of others must never forget about the deportations. Every nation must fight for its historical truth and the strug gle is becoming more serious by the day. Especially after Russia has returned to Stalinist concepts of history. Vladimir Putin is personally seeing to their dissemination. A lot has been done in Estonia to remember deporta tions, people’s life’s stories have been collected, art installa tions, documentaries and a lot of music created. A book called the “Priboi Files: Articles and Documents of the March 1949 Deportation” has been pub lished. These achievements are crowned by the imposing Maarjamäe monument complex, which is one of the most important objects of Estonian memory in the world. What else? I believe we also need a major motion picture. A movie to give future generations an artistic key they could use for interpreting events increas ingly far in the past. I am left envious looking at Norway recording its history in films some of which are circu lated internationally. ETV is currently showing the series “Atlantic Crossing” about Crown Princess Märtha who placed her charm at Norway’s disposal during the war in her friendship with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. All Baltic states have made a movie about the deportations. We have “In the Crosswind” (“Risttuules”) from 2014, the Lithuanians have their “Ekskur sante” from 2013 and Latvia has “The Chronicles of Melanie” from 2016. All are good movies of considerable effect, while it is now time to take a step forward towards a great narrative. An international audience could be considered. It would also be nice were the Estonian Academy of Music or music historians to collect the music of Estonians in Siberia, especially songs. Most of them are about Estonia, about home, longing and love – the things people missed the
As many readers will re member, Linna came to the University of Toronto’s Con vocation Hall in 1989, for the 71st anniversary of Estonia first gaining its independence. There with Alo Mattiisen on keyboard and a choir to accompany him, he performed René Eespere’s composition Ärkamise aeg (“Awakening Time”). He also sang Eestlane olen ja eestlaseks jään (“I am an Estonian and I will remain one”), which he and Antti Kammiste had both per formed during the Singing Revolution. Linna also brought songs and poems to the Toronto Estonian House. In April 2010, he played for the Estonian House’s 50 year commemora tion party. It’s an instance of things coming full circle then,
that he will be performing for Estonians in Toronto to com memorate the re-gaining of independence. In fact, Antti Kammiste and Ivo Linna have played together all over North America, Australia, and beyond for Estonian events. At the VEMU fundraiser event, one will be able to hear more about those visits to Canada, what it was like to be in the midst of all that change, and to listen to them perform songs just for us. Registration for this event has already begun, so don’t delay in securing your tickets for what’s going to be a standout night of the “virtual era” and among post-independence Estonian community celebra tions.
most in Siberia. It would be nice to see a collection of these songs. But perhaps there is some thing else all of us could do. Allow me to recount a per sonal experience. In 2011, we erected a simple commemora tive plaque with the names of 14 people deported from the village of Urissaare in Pärnu County in 1941. Now, there is a place for people to come to gether, remember and light a candle. Children learn far more from such outings than from textbooks. Such local places of memory can be found all over Estonia but not everywhere. The names of everyone hurt in wars and deportations are displayed next to the church in Viru-Jaagupi. A simple solution but effective, especially if you see seven names from the same family. The injustice of history is tan gible there. It would be good to see vil lages and rural municipalities remember their deported. It doesn’t take much, a plaque with some names and a little effort. Therefore, dear munici pality mayors, perhaps we can start by finding out the names of locals who were deported. We have proper databases and I’m sure a local enthusiast could get it done quite quickly. After that, it would be possible to discuss where to erect the monument and whether one is needed. But it would give people a place to go and light candles. While such a future-oriented narrative about the past might come off as an exaggeration, it is not. The coronavirus will pass, while memories must re main. Major events are not pos sible but lighting a candle on the window sill would be ap propriate, and a sign that we will not forget.
Recollections… (Continued from page 6)
guitar panning left and right, rustling cajon percussion, trum pet, and twinkling piano pro vided by Jeremy Ledbetter. Ledbetter’s trio includes bassist Rich Brown and drummer Larnell Lewis, who have both played with past EMW artist Laila Biali. As we can see by this list of names and places, Roman Smirnov is well-travelled and connected to music scenes wherever he goes. What then could we say about his musical home? He’s cosmopolitan; but at the same time, Estonia has always continued to be a place that he cherishes. For this concert, Smirnov will be returning to where it all started, in Tallinn, for an inter view about his life, and to play a selection of his pieces. This will be a show for audiences to take pride in an Estonian who has so thoroughly expanded the possibilities of the guitar.
