hi can you please tell me more about the Estonian Song Festival?? i find it interesting but all i know about it is that a choir of 30,000 people sing in it.
The Song Festival has been important part of Estonian culture since 1869.
The very first Song Celebration was held to celebrate 50 years from the year (1819) serfdom was abolished in Estonia. There performed only 822 (male) singers with 56 brass players. It was held in Tartu.
At the first Song Festival, most of the songs were in German, but there were also few Estonian songs, one of which is now our national anthem (Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm)
From the 4th Song Festival the festivals have been held in Tallinn.
During Soviet occupations, Estonians were forced to sing lot of songs that praised communism, but they also always sang Mu isamaa on minu arm, an song that was unofficial anthem of Estonia during occupation. The tradition of closing the Song Festival with this song carries on today.
