Mäetagused (Dec 2011)
Pärimusmuusika mõiste ja kontseptsiooni kujunemine Eestis
Abstract
In the 1990’s a new term pärimusmuusika (~‘traditional music’, literally ‘inheritance music’) has emerged in Estonia. The term was invented to stand for English traditional music, but its content is also close to world music, ethnic music, roots music and of course, to an older term rahvamuusika (‘folk music’). In the present study the development of the term pärimusmuusika will be analysed on the basis scholarly writings, journalese and memories of the authors. The theoretical basis for this analyse constitutes an idea that a term reflects a conception, so the changing terms indicate changes in music and its conceptualising.The older term rahvamuusika ‘folk music’ emerged in the early 1900’s and stood for rural music texts developed in oral tradition. In the 1960–70’s under the influence of Anglo-American folk music revival started a “new folk music” style (called folkmuusika) in Estonia, it meant mainly songs with profound lyrics accompanied on acoustical instruments, firstly guitar. As there was lack of Estonian term for that music style, and also for English traditional, an Estonian composer and musicologist Valter Ojakäär offered the term pärimuslaul, -viis (~‘traditional song, melody’) in 1986. The term pärimusmuusika put into circulation firstly as the title of the Viljandi Folk Music Festival in 1994 Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival and spread with the growing popularity of the Festival. The term pärimusmuusika stands for both old rural music styles and their adaptations (folk-rock, art choir music, etc.) in Estonia, to emphasise the continuity of local ethnic music tradition. Those ethnic styles are not referred to as ‘popular music’ (populaarmuusika), because this term refers to the Western influences; nor as ‘folk music (adaptations)’ in order to distinguish them from oldfashioned styles of secondary folklore, including clichés of staged folklore performances, folklore as low vulgar pastime, ideological adaptations made according to Soviet ideology, etc. So the conception of ‘inheritance music’ reflects a little bit opposite tendency freshly to revive the old Estonian ethnic music tradition and to mix it with contemporary music styles. Instead of ‘external authenticity’, i.e. punctual imitation of old sound recordings (or transcriptions), musicians try to catch ‘internal authenticity’, i.e. intuitive (re)creation of ethnic music.
