24 July 2026 – Haapsalu, Läänemaa
ecp’s Années de pèlerinage 2026: Estonia
24 July 2026 – Haapsalu, Läänemaa
I left the United States on the 28th of June and had already endured an extensive twenty-five day tour across Europe: a week in Nottingham, England to support my wife who played in an ultimate frisbee world championship tournament, a three-day layover in Amsterdam to watch the Netherlands Radio Choir and Orchestra give a spectacular rendition of Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem at the Concertgebouw, a ten-day concert tour across Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with another Boston-based ensemble, Labyrinth Choir, and long periods of respite during short stays in Prague and Copenhagen. Despite the intense travel schedule of the prior weeks, I suddenly felt rejuvenat
ed when I landed at Lennart Meri Airport in Tallinn, the nation’s capital city.
While a week is certainly not enough time to fully immerse oneself, the purpose of this visit was to sample the history, culture, and music of a country whose composers have literally revolutionized choral repertoire and its critical role in greater social change. Seraphim will present a concert of works exclusively by Estonian composers in our March 2027 cycle entitled “Curse Upon Iron.” What better way to contextualize the works we will offer than to be on the ground that inspired such monumental music.
My first stop, however, was not to listen to Estonian music, per se, but to observe the extraordinary talents of Estonian chamber musicians. Without much time to waste I immediately traveled approximately ninety minutes west along the Gulf of Finland by charter bus to Haapsalu in Lääne County. The small coastal city was founded in 1279 and since the 19th century has been popular educational center and resort town known for the healing effects of its sea mud. While I never had the opportunity to reap the benefits of this sea mud, I did attend a dazzling concert of G.F. Handel’s 1747 oratorio, Joshua, as part of the Haapsalu Early Music Festival, performed in the cathedral of the city’s historic 13th century castle. The performance featured the spectacular Haapsalu Festival Baroque Orchestra conducted by Estonian-born maestro and musicologist Toomas Siitan. The role of Joshua was performed by English tenor Guy Cutting with fury and might. Additional roles were sung by internationally recognized soloists of Estonian origin. The highlight of the concert was the featured choir: Tumult Ensemble, based in Tallinn and led by Dutch conductor Lodewijk van der Ree. Precise with exceeding amounts of shape, lilt, and style. The concert was sung in English but was preceded by a long introduction in Estonian by festival organizers and local church leadership. The concert was impressive, but the castle and its grounds truly completed the experience, especially at dusk (yes, still only dusk after a three-hour oratorio in the middle of July!). There was something so unique about hearing such music in a venue that predates it by several centuries. Estonia’s history is deep, and surely this visit will only set the table for what I will learn in the coming days.
As the tower bells rang throughout the town once the concert commenced, I knew this was going to be a trip I would never forget.
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