„Jonah’s Mission” by Rudolf Tobias will be performed on November 21 at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn and on November 22 at the Vanemuine Concert Hall in Tartu. The concerts start at 19, the music will be performed by soloists Pille Lill (soprano), Merle Silmato (mezzo-soprano), Juhan Tralla (tenor), Rauno Elp (baritone), Johann Tilli (bass, Finland), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Male Choir, Oratorio Choir , Chamber Choir Voces Musicales, Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir, organist Piret Aidulo, conductor Neeme Järvi.
Tobias’ „Jonah’s Mission” was completed in 1909 in Leipzig and it is the first oratorio ever written by an Estonian composer. The work is based on the Book of Jonah from Old Testament but the German texts are put together from different parts of the Bible. The grandiose work is written for symphony orchestra, three choirs, five soloists and organ and it has a great meaning in Estonian culture history as well among the other works of this kind, ever written in music history, especially in that time.
„Jonah’s Mission” was premiered in 1909 in Leipzig, conducted by the author. The performance, though, was not a real success – due to the incompetence of the performers as well the conductor himself.
The second time „Jonah’s Mission” was played, was on May 25 in 1989 in Tallinn – after a periode of 80 years, when only a few parts of the oratorio were performed here and there, fighting against the political dictation. In 1989, the oratorio was performed as a whole, conducted by Peeter Lilje after a newly constructed score by Vardo Rumessen. To the Estonian premiere followed number of other performances in Scandinavia and elswhere, the oratorio got recorded (BIS, 1995) and published in piano version.
Today and tomorrow „Jonah’s Mission” is brought again to the Estonian audience. The same performances will be recorded on DVD.
Recently, a brand new book „Joonase sõnum” („Jonah’s message”), written by Vardo Rumessen, was published in Tallinn. The book gives a close overview of the story and the thematic background of the work, the composer’s life and his time and the musical material.
Agnes Toomla, Malle Maltis