"Margus Reinsalu's Diary": Chapter. 1969. June - First Time in the Capital and the XVII Song Festival
I went together with my godfather uncle Kaarel, in late June 1969, for the first time to Tallinn and the XVII Song Festival.
In June 1969, at eight and a half years old, I took my life's first trip to Tallinn, our capital, and back then it was a proud event with a capital letter. Together with uncle Kaarel, we traveled from the countryside by bus through Rakvere to Tallinn, that was an adventure in itself. Uncle had a small apartment in a wooden house on what is now Juhkentali Street, with wooden ceilings, a creaky staircase, and city air. There he lived with his second wife Nadja, whom he brought back from Norilsk, where he had been in forced labor. Nadja was quite quiet and friendly, and her daughter Kapitoolina, a name that sounded to me like some fairy-tale character. She was older than me, but we got along well, and she showed me where the Baltic Trainstation was and even the Kalev chocolate shop at the tram terminus, from where I later got a small candy bar. But the highlight of the trip was the XVII Song Festival, the jubilee festival's name was "100 Years of Song Festivals in Estonia," and it sounded very important at the time. Uncle told me that the first song festival was in 1869 in Tartu and now, exactly a hundred years later, it was celebrated with a big party at the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn. Uncle took me the day before to watch the procession, when the song festival flame, which had been lit from sunrays on the stone at the Tartu song festival ground, arrived in Tallinn. This was the first time the Song Festival Flame was used. I remember how the crowd stood along the streets, everyone dressed festively, and the carriers came proudly, singing and with flags, the flame burning inside. On the streets, people were in Estonian national costumes and even some blue-black-white outfits, which weren't really allowed back then, but people knew how to highlight them through patterns or colored ribbons. It was a quiet sense of freedom, which even a child could feel.
Video: Bringing the Song Festival Flame
At the Song Festival Grounds, just like in Tallinn, I had never been before. I remember how thousands of people sang together under the giant song arch, over 30,000 singers! Gustav Ernesaks, the father of Estonian song, himself was on stage, uncle said he was like the embodiment of the Estonian people's voice. And when the choir started the song, of Mihkel Lüdig's choral song “Koit”, I stood as if nailed to the spot, because it sounded like Estonia itself. I didn't yet understand the deeper meaning, but there was something very grand and beautiful in that moment.
One evening, uncle took me to the Pirita river bend, where Villem Kapp's opera "Lembitu" was performed, uncle said it was about our ancestors' freedom struggle against the Germans. I didn't understand everything, but the horses, swords, and songs made it like a movie. And the next day, I saw the ballet "Swan Lake" for the first time in my life, performed at the Song Festival Grounds. I didn't know that people could move so lightly and elegantly, as if they were flying on stage. Everywhere, badges, bags, and colorful flowers were sold, which people pinned to their chests or tied around their necks. Uncle bought me a small tin commemorative badge with the song festival logo, it was like a medal to me. I wore it with pride even at school for a couple of days in a row. Some people also traded writing pads and stamp sets, that was the real currency of song festivals. When we finally returned to the countryside, it was as if I had come back from another world. The people there, the songs, and the whole power of the festival had moved me so much that I couldn't stop talking about it for several days. I told others how Mihkel Lüdig's song “Koit” sounds and how people cried when singing Gustav Erneskas’s "My Fatherland Is My Love." This was my first trip to the capital, my first song festival experience, which stayed in my soul.
Further in the following chapters.
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