Winter Baroque music is coming to town

During the second half of the 16th century European sensibilities towards art, including music, began to change. There is no universal agreement, though, when the Baroque era began, and no evidence to suggest that it occurred as a synchronic development.

Baroque music describes a style of European classical music extending from 1600 to 1750. It is said that this era in music had begun after the Renaissance, and was followed by the Classical era.
The word Baroque was borrowed from architecture to describe the elaborate music of the day.  Baroque music is full of confidence and is very complicated. It is also lively, engaging and it seems to always be in motion.
In the late 18th century, a period during which the dominant style stressed elegance and simplicity, writers used the word baroque to describe earlier music (as well as painting, sculpture and architecture) that seemed to them to be distorted by a profusion of unnatural ornamentation.

The word “baroque” came from the Portuguese word “barroco,” meaning “misshapen pearl,” a strikingly fitting characterization of the architecture of this period. Later, the name came to be applied also to its music. Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed and listened to. It is associated with composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Henry Purcell.

The baroque period saw the development of functional tonality. During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes in musical notation, and developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. Many musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use today.

Many instruments reached the peak of their development at the height of the Baroque era. The baroque era in music was crucial to the development of the modern musical language. The codification of tonality and the establishment of the tempered tuning system were of vital importance. Equally important, though, is the fact that the prolific composers of the era left works that continue to speak eloquently over a distance of centuries.

As does all great art, Baroque music speaks to something that transcends time and place, but it also derives much from the social and cultural context of the world for which it was written.
Music from the Baroque period is of many styles. There is Italian, French, English and German Baroque music. There is early, middle and late Baroque music. There is secular and sacred Baroque music. And there are distinctive personal styles of many composers. One result of this diversity is a certain difficulty in defining Baroque music in terms of a large number of common elements. However, there are three areas where it is useful to make generalizations about Baroque music: 1) Baroque musical instruments; 2) Baroque stylistic elements; 3) The Baroque musical esthetic.

The Baroque Music Festival we’ll introduce here, initiated by the Estonian early music ensemble Hortus Musicus and its leader Andres Mustonen, was born in 1989 of a series of winter Baroque music concerts in the historical Tallinn’s Old Town and the Tartu University Hall.

It soon acquired international dimensions as the Tallinn Baroque Music Festival, with world-famous performers. Since 2002, the Festival has significantly been widening its grasp of repertoire. Among performers one can always find Hortus Musicus and its Academic Orchestra. This festival has hosted a variety of famous musicians, such as Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall, Barthold Kuijken, Emma Kirkby, Patrick Gallois, Edward Parmentier, as well as Liana Isakadze, Michel Lethiec, Natalia Gutman, ensembles Timedance, Consort of Musicke, The Tallis Scholars, Red Priest, Providence, Concerto ’91, Kremerata Baltica with Gidons Kremer, Taganka Theater with Yuri Lubimov and others, whose way to Estonia has been paved by Andres Mustonen’s personality as a musician. In the last years the Baroque Music Festival has been focusing on the interaction and connection between the Eastern and Western music cultures and national cultures’ individualities.

The Artistic Director of the Festival is violinist and conductor Andres Mustonen, an internationally acknowledged authority of this early music. The Festival is organized by the State Concert Institute Eesti Kontsert (Estonian Concert) as well as the Estonian Music Festivals organization, which is a member of the European Festivals Association (EFA).
Following the opening night’s Golden Bach, the program includes the works of Dufay, Monteverdi, Byrd, Handel and many others, as well as a new opus from Giya Kancheli. The list of participants includes the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Hortus Musicus. The guest performers are Ramin Bahrami, I Virtuosi Italiani, Stile Antico and more.

The festival takes place every year in Tallinn; this year it starts on Jan. 28 and runs till Feb. 6. The annual Baroque Music Festival goes on tour to a variety of locations across Estonia, including Estonia’s Concert Hall.

By Ella Karapetyan - baltictimes.com

All articles

Estonia says it can fix the 'euro boat'

In the square of Tallinn's Tammsaare park, a queue of cold but curious Estonians stretches round in a small circle, waiting to get their turn in front of a giant plastic cow.

The "sacred cow", as it's called, is a new work of art apparently designed to symbolise the importance Estonian policymakers attach to membership of the eurozone.

But that is not what is drawing the crowds on this chilly winter's day.

For a short while only, this cow will exchange 1 old Estonian kroon for one freshly minted Estonian euro coin.

That is about 15 times better than the official exchange rate.

The Kroon goes in the cows mouth and then, as if by magic a new euro coin appears from the cows behind.

Smooth transition

It is not completely clear what the artist is trying to say and the cow has apparently suffered repeated mechanical problems.

Estonians are fear being short changed by their country's euro entry

Fortunately, this is not the only way to get hold of the new currency.

Estonians are proud of their country's IT infrastructure. Tallinn was the original home of Skype, after all, and all agree the introduction of the new currency has gone off without a hitch.

But there is nostalgia for the outgoing kroon, which symbolised hard won independence.

Estonians will miss their "beautiful" currency, which featured, amongst others, the countries leading chess players.

The biggest problem appears to be the new euro coins' single-digit figures.

"The change seems so little," says Elen, a government worker.

Others complain they will need a new wallet to fit the change.

Euro calculator

To help the transition, the government issued almost every household with a "euro calculator", a move not welcomed by critics such as economics professor Ivar Raig.

"What are they saying about Estonians?" he asks. "That we cannot use a normal calculator?"

The idea behind the calculator was to ensure prices are not marked up - as has happened in the past when other countries have adopted the single European currency.

With an exchange rate of 15.64 kroons to the euro, almost nothing in Estonia is now priced in round numbers.

'Boarding the Titanic'

Inflation tied to the change is one worry, but there are more serious concerns.

Some Estonians say adopting the euro is a bit like boarding the Titanic

The kroon has never been a flexible currency in its 18 years, as it has always been pegged to either the Deutsche Mark and then the euro.

Nevertheless, insists Professor Raig, the kroon has helped shelter Estonian companies from excessive competition.

"Companies thought it risky to come [and sell] in Estonia and this meant that small producers had work," he says.

Despite the peg there was always the option to devalue if the government wanted to.

The euro also comes with rules designed to limit inflation, which Estonia has struggled with in the past.

With Estonia now the poorest country in the eurozone, some say limiting inflation will limit growth.

And then there are the problems in the eurozone itself.

Posters around Tallinn suggest Estonia has just purchased the last ticket to board the Titanic.

Others compare the new currency to the Soviet era Russian rouble.

Recent pain

The minister of finance, Jurgen Ligi, accepts that inflation is inevitable if Estonia is to catch up. The country's economic growth rate has accelerated of late and the government forecasts around 4% in the next year.

"We can't really avoid a little bit of inflation", he admits, "but at the same time we are much more experienced after the crisis and such a consumption and loan boom can't happen again."

Indeed, Estonia suffered as much as anyone, seeing its GDP fall by 14% from its peak.

Despite that, the government refused to devalue the currency.

Mr Ligi believes that as most of Estonia's exports also relied on imports it would have had little benefit.

But he accepts his new currency is in need of work - even adopting the boat metaphor favoured by his opponents.

"For us you have to understand there is no fleet on the sea, we have only one boat, we have to try and make it better and if it sinks, it sinks anyway. But we have all the knowledge how to avoid it."

'Start-up country'

Across town from Mr Ligi's soviet era ministerial building sits the rather more laid back home of Skype, the internet telecoms company.

The company was founded in Estonia, and maintains its largest office here with more than 400 staff.

Their general manager in Estonia, Sten Tankivi, says he thought the change would be mostly psychological - convincing investors that Estonia is indeed a safe country in which to invest.

Skype is Estonia's most famous start up, but it is by no means the only one.

As the economy has recovered in the last year, the country has once again started winning awards for its new IT firms.

This is why Mr Tankivi shares his finance minister's optimism about his country and its abilities.

"Estonia as a country is a start-up," he says.

"There are no limits. You can achieve anything and make things happen.

"Those sorts of characteristics are important, besides economic issues."

As the euro enters another testing year, European governments may well want to adopt the Estonian mentality.

By Damian Kahya - bbc.co.uk

All articles

Estonia Will Adopt European Currency

Estonia, which emerges in a copy of a deep recession, will adopt the European currency in January, although the euro area is undergoing its worst crisis since its creation in 1999 because of the huge sovereign debt of many of its members. The Baltic country of 1.3 million inhabitants, a member since 2004 of the European Union (EU of 27 members), will become the 1st January in the seventeenth member of the eurozone, will also be the third former communist country after Slovenia in 2007 and Slovakia in 2009, to adopt the euro. According to surveys, about half of Estonians want the euro to replace the crown currency created in 1992 to replace the Soviet ruble, after five decades of domination by Moscow.

The Estonian center-right government, which implemented a strict economic policy since before the global crisis, believes that the euro changeover is advantageous and is a logical step for a small open economy to the world.

“The International Monetary Fund indicates that the changeover to the euro will accelerate the growth between 0.15% and 1% per year over the next two decades,” said the Estonian minister Economy, Juhan Parts. “Our foreign trade is done by 80% within the European Union. The common market is advantageous to us all, for Estonian entrepreneurs can sell their products more easily, creating jobs,” he added.

Estonia, called the “Baltic Tiger” because of its rapid transition from a centralized to a market and its impressive growth, and had tried to integrate the euro zone in 2007 but was prevented by high inflation.

All articles