VELJO TORMIS
Born 1930 Composer Veljo Tormis will be remembered not just as one of the most accomplished and distinctive choral composers of his generation, but also as a significant voice of the Estonian nationalist movement. Much of his music expressed his Estonian heritage by drawing on traditional ancient folksong, bringing people’s attention to Finno-ugric languages on the edge of extinction. Tormis was one of the key composers at the heart of the ‘Singing Revolution’ that took place in Estonia in the 1980s – in which thousands of people would gather to sing in protest at Soviet rule – and when the country finally did win independence, his music began to enjoy worldwide popularity. Born in Kuusalu in northern Estonia, Tormis studied at the Tallinn Conservatory and then in Moscow. After a period teaching at Tallinn Music School, where his students included Arvo Pärt, he worked as a freelance composer. Among his most famous choral works was the pounding, chant-like Curse Upon Iron (1972) which, complete with ancient drum, harks back to shamanistic rituals. He retired from composing in 2000.