Concert: Songs from the Estonian Setumaa

At 16.00 LUMMO KATI LEELO CHOIR FROM ESTONIAN SETOMAA

Lummo Kati leelopark (Lummo Kati leelo choir) grew out of the Lummo Kati singing camp participants. The name of the choir (and the camp) honors one of the famous improvisers and leelo singers in Setomaa – Jekaterina Lummo aka Lummo Kati (1915-1995). Our choir met for the first time in 2019 in order to perform at the Leelopäev (“Leelo days”, a leelo song festival held every three years). We then discovered that we enjoy singing together so much that we have met regularly ever since. Our choir consists of 11 members who live in various villages in Setomaa and south-eastern Estonia. Some of our singers are born and raised in Setomaa and some are newcomers who are interested in the local culture and traditions. We might have different origins but we are drawn together by the keen interest of learning and practising the traditional Seto leelo.

We are concerned that the traditional polyphony and improvisational skills are quickly disappearing from the contemporary singing scene and therefore we are firm advocates of the learning of these quickly disappearing techniques. As we are no longer living in a traditional environment where leelo is a part of everyday life, the skill of juggling melodic variations and lyrics is something that needs constant work and practice for anyone today. First and foremost we see ourselves as lifelong learners of Seto leelo. We try to maintain a close cooperation with the Estonian folklore archives in order to assertively learn and maintain the ancient skills of singing Seto leelo. It is our goal to dig into the endless depths of the unique polyphony and different scales of leelo songs, the lyrical improvisations and the singing styles of the old singers. We are eternally grateful for the ethnologists and folklorists of the 20th century who started to gather the enormous collection of recordings of the Estonian folklore archives – their work makes it possible for us to learn from the best singers and traditional choirs from the past. For us, singing, learning and sharing Seto leelo is a fascinating and never-ending journey that will last throughout our entire lives - the heritage of leelo is so rich that it would take several lifetimes to get to the bottom.

Rather than performing on stages, we love singing leelo in natural environments such as traditional village parties. These informal gatherings allow one to acquire the authentic feeling of singing together - both as a choir and with the others guests and singers at these events. This communal joy and excitement of singing together, can be experienced in these types of traditional gatherings. We wish that the old tradition of singing together and free-form improvising will live on.