Various Artists
Estonia: Ancient Airs
Ocora

Since there appears to be little folk or roots music being recorded in Estonia, those interested in Estonian music need to grab onto this French import. Although this CD suffers from a lack of liner notes detailing the socio-history of Estonian folk music, the instrumental tunes on Ancient Airs are wonderful. Some of the most striking tunes on the album are played on the torupill, a bagpipe made from a goat's maw. The tunes, some of which date back to the 14th century, reflect a highly ornamented approach to music making. Another very old Estonian instrument is the kannel, a type of saltery. Many of the kannel pieces are dance songs, especially waltzes and polkas that reflect the historical German influence on Estonia. Some of the oldest folk music on the CD is represented by the solo pastoral tunes played on the karjapasun (herdman's horn), the roopill (reed pipe) the vilepill (willow whistle). These simple tunes remind us that the bedrock of Baltic folk music is derived from a herding culture. Eesti Raadio, the Estonian national radio, originally collected most of the 26 tracks on this CD. The final three tracks are examples of old folk tunes collected on wax cylinders in 1912 and on acetate in 1938. Compared to the polished folkloric ensembles on the rest of the album, this is really rough-hewn music. One can well imagine that this primitive stuff is a lot closer to what was really heard back in the old herding days! -Aaron Howard