LISTEN | Chœur de l’Orchestre de Paris Performed Veljo Tormis’s Choral Cycle “Forgotten Peoples”
The Choir of the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Ingrid Mänd, performed Veljo Tormis's choral cycle "Forgotten Peoples" to a full house at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu. The concert was part of the Tartu 2024 Finno-Ugric Days, an event focused on the region's forgotten minority groups.
The choral cycle “Forgotten Peoples” is Veljo Tormis’s musical portrayal of six Finno-Ugric tribes from the Baltic Sea region. Eighty singers from the Chœur de l’Orchestre de Paris performed three parts of the cycle: “Izhorian Epic,” “Votic Wedding Songs,” and “Ingrian Evenings,” in Vadja and Isuri languages, and the Ingrian Finnish dialect.
“This is the music of our people, which has helped us to understand ourselves better” said conductor Ingrid Mänd. “The French do not have such a strong connection to their folk music, making their motivation and dedication to learning the songs in the Votic and Izhorian languages, and the Ingrian Finnish dialect, even more special. Today, when many people are forced to leave their homes, stories of forgotten people are very relevant.”
With the Finno-Ugric Days, the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 aims to bring attention to forgotten minority groups whose traditional culture in Russia is threatened with extinction due to worsening conditions and repression.
Listen to the concert “Forgotten Peoples” on Klassikaraadio.
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