April 9-13, the 4th folkBaltica festival takes place in Flensburg and the German-Danish region of Sønderjylland-Schleswig. After Norway, Sweden and Finland, this year’s festival will be focusing on Estonia. Festival guests are among others The Johansons, Ro:toro, Elletuse and Liisi Koikson.
Estonian accordion (lõõtspill) will be introduced by Estonian accordion virtuosos Kadri Giannakaina Laube and Tarmo Noormaa joined by German accordion player Erhard Ohlhoff who has been active also in Estonia for a long time. Concerts will take place on April 9 in Gråsten, April 10 in Sønderhav, April 12 in Flensburg and Unewatt.
Concert „Estonian Springtime“ is dedicated to regilaul (runic song). Two concerts in church will present Elletuse, Liisi Koikson, Kärt Johanson, Veljo Tormis (shaman drum), Capella St. Nikolai and Michael Mages (organ). Programme consists of Veljo Tormis’s choral works, Edgar Arro’s organ music and folk-jazz interpretations of Estonian folk tunes. Concerts will take place on April 11 in Flensburg and April 13 in Sønderborg.
Ensembel Ro:toro will perform with guitarist Karl Laanekask. Ro:toro’s music is fusion of traditional bagpipe tunes, saxophone improvisations and water drum sounds. Ro:toro staffed by Cätlin Jaago (bagpipe), Sandra Sillamaa (bagpipe), Marko Mägi (saxophone) and Silver Sepp (percussion) with Karl Laanekask (electric guitar) will give a workshop on April 12 in Flensburf Music School and concert on April 13 in Flensburg. On April 12, the joint concert will be given with Schäl Sick Brass Band (Cologne) and Swedish singer Anna Lindblom in festival centre „Alte Post“.
Kärt Johanson, who was the guest at the first festival, will return now with her brothers. Johansons family ensemble’s multifarious style is influenced by Estonian traditional songs, choir-singing, jazz, Russian romances, music from Soviet cartoons and personal contacts with traditional musicians from different cultures. Johansons’s ensemble staffed by Kärt Johanson (vocal), Jaak Johanson (guitar, vocal), Mart Johanson (guitar, vocal) and Ants Johanson (bouzouki, vocal) will give a concert on April 12 in Büdelsdorf and April 13 in Flensburg.
Priit Valkna’s „Headwind hall“, documentary of conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, will be shown in Flensburg from 3rd till 5th April and Singer Liisi Koikson’s concert film „Väike Järv – Liisi Koikson live“ on April 12.
Mariliis Valkonen