Väljaande tutvustus

Introduction to the publication

Väike Hellero is a women’s runosong ensemble based in Tartu. Our purpose is to learn and study the older runosong heritage of Estonian, Seto, and other Finno-Ugric peoples, while discovering the worlds of thought and music connected to it. When learning the songs, we mostly rely on audio recordings and manuscripts in the Estonian Folklore Archives, as well as academic research on the texts, melodies, and performance of runosong. Janika Oras – a folklorist, lecturer and one of the initiators of Väike Hellero over the years, together with the members of the ensemble, has experimented with various ways of interpreting archive materials about song performance, aiming for a result that would be musically interesting, and close to the old tradition.

In November of 2019, Väike Hellero had its 25th anniversary. The web publication “The Story of Runosong” is meant to be a celebration of the anniversary and of our long journey of singing together.

The web publication introduces the development of runosong and the nearly 2000 years of history of this singing style. We attempted to choose songs that would give a versatile impression of runosong in various periods of time and performance situations. The accompanying texts have been written by Mari Sarv in cooperation with Janika Oras, and the songs are performed by Väike Hellero.

The first time we told and sang the story of runosong was in a workshop at the Viljandi Folk Music Festival in summer of 2019. In autumn of 2019, the songs were recorded in Kärgula and Sulbi (Võru county) by Patrick McGinley, a recorder of environmental sounds. We recorded many of the songs in open air – in a forest, in a field, by a river, on a swing – looking for ways to capture in sound the spatiality that is created when playing a circle game, swinging, walking, or singing to accompany working.

We offer the listener an opportunity to follow the singers into the sauna, the forest, the field, the party – to the heart of the events where runosong is sung. During the game of gates, one can hear two lines of players singing opposite each other while coming and going, and when singing the harvesting song, groups of singers are moving on the wide meadow, like workers once moved along the field. In the wedding songs from Karula, singers’ feet can be heard stomping, and the song „Let us burn the taskmaster!“ has been recorded while walking on a forest path, like it could have been sung back when people were returning home after forced labour for the manor. Many background sounds can be heard in the recordings during, before and after songs: footsteps, the rustle of leaves, the cracking of branches, the flowing of the river, birds singing, and the barking of dogs. The soundscape has changed along with runosong: on our recordings, hints of modern times can be recognised by the sound of an airplane, passing cars, and a tractor working in a nearby field.

The collection is meant for people already familiar with runosong, as well as for those who have no previous contact with our oldest song tradition. It can also be used as learning material for introducing runosong in schools or in courses. We recommend listening to our recordings with stereo speakers or headphones – that way, you will get the best sense of the environment and the singers' movements. Lyrics and explanations are in Estonian and English, so that interested non-Estonians can get to know the older Estonian oral song tradition and its history.

We wish to sincerely thank the people of Roosu farm for letting us stay in the former Sulbi storehouse. We wish to thank the family of Kinetski farm in Kärgula, our second base for recording, as well as everyone who took care of our children. We are very grateful to Patrick McGinley whose expertise and devotion helped us discover new exciting nuances in how songs and the natural environment can sound together. We thank Andrus Kalkun for his contribution in the preparations for the web publication. We are grateful to the Council of the Folk Culture Endowment of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia whose support made possible the creation of the web publication.

Many thanks to the kind people who gave us advice on dialects – Urmas Kalla and Andreas Kalkun, and all the others who have supported us with their knowledge. We are sincerely grateful to Savannah Rivka Powell who has sung with us and has edited the English texts of the publication. We warmly thank all the former members of Väike Hellero. Our highest appreciation to all the singers and collectors, as well as the employees of the folklore archives over time, whose love for runosong and mutual contribution allow us to pass on this singing culture from faraway times.

Väike Hellero 2020: Leanne Barbo, Maali Kahusk, Pihel Kuusk, Liisi Laanemets, Janika Oras, Maarja Oras, Madli Oras, Minni Oras, Margit Päkk, Kadi Sarv, Mari Sarv, Tuul Sepp, Kati Soon, Meel Valk.