Mart Saar So Far (part two)

Spring has sprung in Estonia and finally buds are swelling and things are greening! My study of selected choral works by Mart Saar is in full blossom as well!

So far, I have transcribed 21 pieces for segakoor (mixed choir). Saar wrote over 400 works for choir. To narrow down the scope of my project, I used the playlist of pieces from a 2007 recording of Saar’s mixed choir works by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Chorale (EPCC), Mikk Űleoja conducting. [Available at Estonianmusic.com, CD by mail only]. Transcription entails reviewing two out-of-print editions from Soviet times, (1957 and 1982) and adapting the original piano score (treble and bass staves) into choral score (SATB) using Finale.  Miraculously, despite a 1921 house fire that destroyed many of Saar’s manuscripts, I have been able to locate sketches and manuscripts for all but three of the selected works. Many thanks to the Estonian Museum of Theater and Music for kindly allowing me to physically examine these original documents and make digital copies for future scrutiny.

Until I am able to enlist the services of a translator, all biographical material, save a brief sketch in the EPCC CD liner notes, is in Estonian. I have been taking an Estonian language course since January, but am not at a level where I can read proficiently.  Given this, the investigation of primary source material becomes a fascinating challenge! There is much to learn about the composer, his life, and his compositional evolution that I am sure would shed light on my study. Nevertheless, I enjoy scrutinizing his manuscripts immensely (DMA thesis?). I feel like a detective and love to postulate about what I see. Putting my hands on the actual manuscripts is like conducting a séance with the departed master himself. I feel as if he is in the room composing the work under my gaze. It is a near mystical experience to stare at the notes and make inferences about Saar’s personality and habits based on his penmanship. For the most part, his manuscripts are readily legible. He was methodical; it appears that his ideas came to him with little effort. There are very few erasures. He used pencil and ink pen. It seems that he had a habit of tracing over earlier penciled manuscripts in pen in order to preserve them. Saar frequently revised and adapted his works for different voicings so it is difficult to know which manuscript copy represents the final version; for one piece I have four different versions. It becomes a challenge to trace the evolution of a piece from the earliest to the final. Can one decide that based on the quality and condition of the paper? Yellowed? Tattered? Faded? Twice inked?

As for Saar’s sketches, they are quite a different matter. They exist on all types and sizes of paper; from half-sheets to full (The back of one manuscript was used by a child to practice notational penmanship and is filled with half-notes, whole-notes and quarters). Sometimes, only a folk melody exists with simple block-chord harmonization. Some scores lack text underlay. Another score exists only in TTBB against which I must check the existing SATB version.  There are two pieces for which nothing remains save rudimentary scribbling. I am left to assume that the printed editions are fair representations of what Saar had intended. Because of the 1921 fire, examining some primary sources will never be an option.      

So, why bother with Mart Saar when there is Veljo Tormis and a host of other outstanding Estonian composers? Perhaps the only way to answer that question is to listen to his music. I refer again to the incredible recording by EPPC. I purchased it on a recommendation back in 2009 and have never grown tired of listening to it. This particular recording chronicles Saar’s evolving style—from late 19^th Century European romanticism to a modern, fresh sound that evokes the spirit of Estonian folksong and represents an emerging national style that Saar founded.

There is much yet to do. Scores will need to be proofed many more times to check for accuracy of notes, dynamics, spellings, etc. I have enlisted the help of two fine Estonians, Greete Kõrvits and Ingrid Roose, to assist in preparing accurate word-for-word translations. From these, I create a sensible poetic translation. In some cases, Saar uses archaic Estonian words and spellings. Texts based on poetry from Southern Estonia can present word variations unfamiliar to Northerners. Fortunately, there seems to be few note errors. Placement and use of dynamic markings and expressive text is often tricky as they seem to have been added at later stages. Text underlay is occasionally problematic; Saar often reworked it during revision.

My intended outcome is to make this music accessible to Western audiences and it’s a ‘long and winding road’ but I am well on the way. Here’s my checklist:

                                Readable choral score notation √

                                Compare against primary and secondary sources (ongoing)

                                Obtain copyright permissions (ongoing)

                                Approach publishers √

                                Complete word-for-word and poetic translations √

                                Write piano reductions for rehearsal purposes

                                Compile a diction guide √

                                Make MP3’s of diction by native speaker

                                Write forwards (biographical sketches and information about pieces)

                                Publish singly, in groups of 2 or 3, or as anthology

                                Write Choral Journal article – examples, excepts, bibliography and resources (ongoing)

Imäl oli jo original manuscript:

Imäl oli jo Finale score (first pages only):

 

Recording:

 

 

Translation:

Imäl oli jo

Imäl oli jo,

Mother had jo

ütsi latsi jo,

one child jo

*hai, hai, hai, lilo,

ütsi latsi jo.

One child jo

Imäl oli jo,

Mother had jo

hüä latsi jo,

good child jo

hai, hai, hai, lilo,

hüä latsi jo.

Good child jo

Imäl oli jo,

Mother had jo

armsa latsi jo,

sweet child jo

hai, hai, hai, lilo,

armsa latsi jo.

Sweet child jo

Imält veie jo,

From mother took jo

kalli latsi jo,

dear child jo

imält veie jo,

from mother took jo

surma käsi jo,

death’s hand jo

hai, hai, hai, lilo,

surma käsi jo.

Death’s hand jo

Imäke nüüd elab ütsi,

Mother dear now lives alone

ütsi, ütsi, ütsi jo. 

Alone, alone, alone, jo.

*Note: ‘hai, hai, hai, lilo’ has no literal meaning.

 

Mother had one child, one child.

Mother had a good child, good child.

Mother had a sweet child, sweet child.

From Mother the dear child was taken,

From the mother the child was taken by death’s hand,

by death’s hand.

Dear mother now lives alone.

Alone, alone, alone.

 



 

2014 News from Estonia

Koolidedevaheline noorte koorijuhtide konkurss

“Inter-School Young Choral Conductors’ Competition’

Just had a fascinating experience participating in a choral competition for high school –aged conductors. Boy, did I ever participate! When I arrived, my colleague and friend, Ingrid Kõrvits informed me that the choir was dreadfully short on tenors. I was drafted to sing (a baritone that can fake a young tenor sound using light head voice and falsetto on the higher notes). I am so glad I sang!  I had a blast sitting with the tenors and just behind the altos. My Estonian is good enough now that I can catch page and rehearsal numbers and basic musical instructions. My section mates would quietly translate when the need arose. I could tell that they enjoyed speaking English. They appreciated that I was making an effort to use Estonian as well.  Three hours passed quickly.

The concept of the Muusikakeskkool (music high school) is perhaps unfamiliar to many stateside. These schools include grades 1 through 12. In addition to a core curriculum (Math, Science, Estonian, English, etc.), every student is required to study an instrument and play or sing in an ensemble. Solfeggio classes and Kodaly based instruction are required in the primary grades. ‘Majors’ include instrumental and choral conducting, applied performance, and music science (music theory).  Muusikakeskkool, where I have been observing and teaching, has dormitories that house students that come from other parts of the country.

Today’s competition included a total of nine contestants from three different schools. Each contestant chose from a selected list of choral repertoire for their twenty- minute rehearsal segment. A volunteer choir numbering about 50 (grades 9 through 12) sight-read the music, some of which was standard Estonian choral repertoire. Their sight singing was very good. They learned quickly, sang in tune and responded well to the prompts and cues of the conductors. Conducting lessons start (as I understand it) in the 9^th grade.  Skill levels and rehearsal strategies varied widely, but overall, these young conductors performed at a level that would give our collegiate aged students a run from their money! Many used only a tuning fork for pitch reference. SATB pitch cues were routinely given by the conductors for different starting places in the score--evidence of good preparation and sophisticated ears. Gestures were polished and musical.  It was clear that conductors had thoroughly studied their scores; they often demonstrated concepts by singing various parts for the choir. Female conductors were as ease when they sang a tenor or bass part to demonstrate concepts to those sections. All pieces were a cappella; the piano was used infrequently.

From my vantage point inside the choir, I imagined how I would rate these contestants and what sort of comments I might make to encourage them. I saw habits that I recognized from my own rehearsal experience, particularly when I was starting out:

• Delivering verbal feedback and feeling out-of-breath
• Delivering a cue and not ‘breathing with the choir’
• Providing too much verbal instruction and too little opportunity to sing
• Asking the choir to focus on too many things at once
• Giving a forte cue for a pianissimo passage, then chiding the choir for singing too loudly
• Following a lesson plan at the expense of being aware of what’s happening at present
• Focusing on one section choir while the other three sit idly (for too long)
• Not knowing what to say or do when the choir stops singing, especially when they sang well
• Unintentionally disengaging choir from making music by omitting the student voice:  “how does that feel…?”  “What do you notice when …?”                

 My favorite conductor did not use the piano, had a solid modelling voice, understood the basics of vowel modification, resonance placement and breath support. She knew her score backwards and forwards, picked an intelligent, singable piece, allowed the choir to sing most of the time, offered brief, simple suggestions, gave immediate feedback and praised the choir for their efforts. The competition lasted three hours; there were twenty minutes that I found absolutely satisfying musically, facilitated by this lovely conductor. Guess what? She won the competition!

               

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year all! It has been an amazing sabbatical so far in Estonia.  Tallinn, the capital city and the cultural center of the country, is rich in the arts.  I am lucky to be just two blocks from the heart of the city and the Estonian Concert Hall and Opera House where I have seen so many incredible concerts! 

Here is a picture of the opera/ballet calendar for the month of January. It is packed full of standards in the repertoire!

Coming up in February is a production of ‘Liblikas’ (Butterfly) an opera in two acts, written by my colleague and friend, Tõnu Kõrvits. His works are gaining international attention.  In the state of Washington, our own Justin Raffa and the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are performing Kõrvits’ work for choir and strings, ‘Kreegi Vihik’ (Kreek’s Notebook) January 12, 2014! 

To give you a taste of what I have heard in concert during the last two months, peruse the list below:

Bach – Christmas Oratorio

Britten – War Requiem

Britten – Ceremony of Carols
Britten – Missa Brevis
Britten – Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell, 0p. 34
Elgar – Cello Concerto E Minor, Op.85
René Eespere (Estonian composer) – chamber music
Gregorian Chant and Organum - Vox Clamantis & Schola Santae Sunnivae
Handel - Messiah
Tõnu Kõrvits – Kreek’s Notebook
Mozart – Solemn Vespers, KV339
Music for Children’s Choir, Mixed Choir, and Girls’ Choir – Tallinna Muusikakeskkooli Kooride
Music for Girls’ Choir – Tütarlastekoor Ellerhein
Music for Boys’ Choir –Rahvusooper Estonia Poistekoor
Music for Women’s Choir (various Estonian composers) – Sireen Women’s Choir
Music for Saxophone and Organ (various Estonian composers) – Virgo Veldi, sax; Ulla Krigul, organ.
Monteverdi – Magnificat a 6
Lepo Sumera (Estonian composer) – chamber music
Saint-Saëns - Organ Symphony, no. 3, op. 78
Stockhausen – Herbstmusik