Page 30 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

28 INTRODUCING EST ONIA , LA T VIA AND LITHU ANIA

Folk Songs and Music
The traditional songs of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
typically deal with everyday events, calendar rituals and
rites of passage, though stories of epic heroism and
grandeur also exist. These songs are sung by women.
Efforts to compile the songs began in earnest in the late
19th century and this was an important facet of the region’s
growing national awareness. Later, bet ween 1987 and 1990,
the struggle for freedom from the Soviet Union came to be
known as the Singing Revolution, partly due to the role Cover of the 1998 album Beyond the River:
played by huge open-air concerts. Seasonal Songs of Latvia

Traditional Lithuanian songs, or dainos, deal
with daily life. They are sung solo, in unison or
polyphonically. One of the best-known forms is
the duophonic sutartinė from the northeast.

Monophonic
Estonian songs,
or runo, are related
to those from
Finland, and their Baltica Festival
roots are much
older than those This annual international folklore festival
of Latvia and was first held in Estonia in 1987 and is
Lithuania. The Setu hosted cyclically by the Baltic States. The
people of Eastern three Baltic flags were hoisted together for
Estonia have their the first time during the second festival in
own distinctive 1987. Today, the festival brings together
polyphonic around 3,000 participants and includes
singing tra ditions. concerts, parades and workshops.

Latvian folk songs, or
dainas, consist of one or two
stanzas each with two non-
rhyming couplets. This
singing tradi tion is lyrical and
usually draws inspiration
from pagan mythology or
daily life. Traditionally, these
songs were accompanied by
instruments such as bag pipes
and psalteries, with
accordions and fiddles added
in the 17th century.