Birds & Bees - Choral Concert

About

Since the beginning of Music, birdsong has been a constant source inspiration to composers. Arguably, birdsong was the original music to grace human ears, our ancestors accidental audience to the divine songs of these creatures. Part of this programme is a celebration of birdsong, and some of the symbolism that birds have contributed to choral music, with Janequin, Ravel, C. V. Stanford, and Edward Elgar all musing on birds - to a degree!

And yet the title of this programme refers to more than just the common euphemism we use to educate young people about physical love.

The second half of the programme largely features songs from Estonia and in poetry this country is often referred to as the Beehive and its citizens as bees. Estonia has at different times been occupied by the Swedes, the Germans, the Danes, and most recently, the Russians (twice). Each occupation has led to a mass diaspora of Estonians, reaching all over the globe.

The idea of flying to the Beehive celebrates the returning generations of Estonian diaspora, who make their pilgrimage to the Song Festival Grounds in order to celebrate in all things Estonian. It is also an opportunity to remember the lost relatives, the lost generations of Estonians, who were unable to be there: those unable to make the flight back to the Beehive.

In the Tormis piece "Kord me tuleme tagasi", "Once we will reappear", the only Tutti phrase of the piece asks the question "Kuhu sa lendad, mesilind?" - "Whither flyest thou, little bee?". Tormis asks us if the Estonian language, and culture, can be allowed to thrive. With the final phrase in the Sopranos, "Kord me ju tuleme tagasi" he answers "Of *course* we will return". And yet the sad, slow rising and descending, meandering chromatic scales tell us how nomadic and fragile this journey back to the Beehive can be.

This programme thus features more than just one Estonian composer, with Cyrillus Kreek alongside Tormis, with two of his sacred pieces.

Finally, no musical programme is completely free of physical love. BIRDS AND BEES celebrates this also, with "The turtle dove" by Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst's "I love my love" - which lament over lost loves - and Sven-David Sandström's "4 Songs of love" (from the Song of Songs) which celebrates the most divine aspects of love, and Sibelius' "Rakastava" (The lovers), which also tragically ends with only one lover left.