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Any translation of the Toronto Estonian Men’s Choir motto is awkward and does not capture its emotional timbre: “Alati sinule kodumaa, kõlagu vabada meeste laul”.
As the few bars of song ritually open TEM’s concerts, audiences, hearing the adage, rise. The tune and words are instantly recognizable as the essence of TEM, an en-during institution of Estonians abroad.
The motto, with Roman Toi’s music and Henrik Visnapuu’s words, represents a pursuit of freedom and defiance of the foreign. The maestro had pride in TEM’s ability to get that message across to all audiences, whatever their background. It was natural in the late 1980s to have this “vabade meeste laul” missive resonate in Estonia’s “Singing Revolution”. ....
Uzvaras parks (Victory Park) in Rīga was the scene of one of this year's major news stories when a Soviet-era monument was spectacularly toppled, as reported by LSM at the time. ....
Wednesday saw the launch of an architectural competition to renovate the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, with the goal of making the surrounding urban area more enjoyable even when the festival is not in progress. ....
Any attempt to rob a person of their nationality is among the greatest crimes one can commit against a human being and justifies resistance, Karl Lembit Laane writes based on the ideas of Jakob Hurt. ....
The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, the host of the huge Estonian singing events, will open a visitor centre on 31 August; the centre tells a story of the Signing Revolution, the tradition of Song Festivals and the history of the Song Festival Grounds. ....