Waking the Birds started tour in Japan

The concert-performance Waking the Birds by the Vox Populi choir, directors Anne Türnpu and Eva Koldits, conductor Janne Fridolin started its tour in Japan. The tour lasts from October 23th to 31st, 2023, moving through Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, Sendai and Tokyo.

The Finno-Ugric mystery Waking the Birds is based on the music of the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis.

"Waking the Birds is a journey into the traditions, rituals and incantations of various Finno-Ugric peoples. The folk songs in the mystery tell the story of the creation of the world, the waiting for the souls of ancestors, and the pain of becoming a man, or in other words, the life cycle of the Finno-Ugric as well as the circle of the year," says director Anne Türnpu and adds: "Livonians, Karelians, Estonians, Finns, Ingrians, Isurians, Vadsyans and Vepsians, Sami and Mari, Erza and Moksha, Udmurds and Komi, Hands, Mansians and Hungarians have all believed that the world begins with an egg; that the first piece of land is brought from the bottom of the primeval sea by the water beast in its beak; that our ancestors come from heaven and return there; that both humans and gods can take the form of an animal or a bird or a plant; that man has many souls, and that some of them may act as insects, butterflies, or mice; that with the migratory birds that come in the spring our ancestors also return; that if the birds and ancestors are greeted well, the field will be more fruitful, the flock will be restored; that descendants must also be asked of those who have gone before; that the bear hears and the forest remembers."

The performance includes 37 singer from Vox Populi choir and the conductor Janne Fridolin. The creative team consists of stage directors Anne Türnpu and Eva Koldits, the stage designer Kairi Mändla, the lighting designer Airi Eras, the sound designer Lauri Kaldoja (Estonian Drama Theatre), the consultant for singers' physical preparation Rasmus Kaljujärv, the vocal accompanist Andreas Väljamäe.

The tour is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Photo: Aron Urb