Recordings from the Estonian Folklore Archives 3

August Tina

The band of Mõntsi village performing in Erastvere park in 1968. From the left: Wenda Mandel, Osvald Viin, August Müürsepp, Arti Aabel, Kindlus Viin, and August Tina. ERA, Foto 8895.

In 1966 Aino Strutzkin from Estonian Radio recorded a village ensemble in Kanepi. The members of the ensemble were August Müürsepp (1900–1970), Osvald Viin (1896–1978), Kindlus Viin (b. 1931) and August Tina (1896–1989). Kindlus was Osvald’s son and all the older men were kinsmen. At the time these recordings were made, all four men lived in different places – in the villages of Kellaküla, Mõnsi and Jõksi and in the town of Antsla. They played together usually at birthdays and weddings. All the men came from musical clans and most of them could play a number of instruments (August Tina had also conducted the student mandola orchestras at three schools). Already in their youth the men had played in the village band, which had a dozen or so members. August Müürsepp had learned the sonorous Wedding Polka included in this collection as a boy in Kanepi Parish.