Regilaulude esitus

Performance
of runosongs

Simpler runosong melodies colloquially have not even been deemed as melodies during the latest centuries, as they differ from newer, Western music. Older melodies have been referred to using simple descriptive titles such as pleasure, tone, voice, intoning or other local terms. The transcription of these melodies has also caused a headache to the collectors: “There were quite many old singing or rambling melodies - one singer had his/hers, the other different ones. But many of the melodies are such that they cannot be transcribed with notes, because the singer does not raise his/her voice by semi- or full tone, but rhythmically directs his/her voice as it pleases” (collector Johannes Sõster from Kadrina, EÜS VII 215).

In Southern Estonia, people started singing the oldest melodies (mostly connected to work, calendar or wedding songs) with refrains - probably influenced by the singing culture of southern and eastern peoples. Refrains were mostly meaningful words in the local language, like “üles” (“up”) or “kas’ke-kan’ke” (kaasik is a companion of the bridegroom). Examples of this song group have been chosen from Southern Estonia, where runosongs are polyphonic in some regions.

In older tradition, runosongs were usually sung so that the lead singer sang the verse and other singers repeated it. They have also been sung alone or all together in a group, without a lead singer. In Seto weddings, two choirs sang simultaneously, each choir with their own lead singer. There have also been references to singing with two or three “pairs” (choirs) in the north – such a way of singing could for example have been used while working on the field, where the song was passed on along field segments like a baton.