Yngve Rosenblad and Marju Tamm from the island of Vormsi started to dig deep into the traditional music of Vormsi and the Estonian Swedes 15 years ago and are now completely immersed in it. The Swedish peasants who inhabited Vormsi during the 13th century brought along an archaic culture of instrument playing and singing, which for centuries remained largely untouched in the relative isolation of Vormsi.
With special joy, Marju and Yngve bring to the audience the sounds of the hidden treasure of the island of Vormsi, the pristine Viking instrument talharpa (in Estonian, hiiu or hiiurootsi kannel). There is no other such island with its own folk instrument in Estonia! In the old days, every man from Vormsi were able to craft the instrument and play on it. Equally special are the Vormsi flat-foot-waltz songs, leik’s, which sound in the old Vormsi-Swedish dialect årmsemål.
At the concerts of Yngve and Marju, you can get a glimpse of the singing and wedding traditions of Vormsi and, more broadly, the life and customs of the Estonian Swedes. You will also hear gripping stories about the fascinating and tragic fate of talharpa.
Yngve Rosenblad – talharpa
Marju Tamm – talharpa
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photo: Kata Varblane