It is said that women forgive and men forget. That is probably one of the reasons why women have played a more important role in passing songs on from one generation to another. Thus, traditions have always been tied to strong gender roles. This has created a passion which motivates people to search for the source of new life and preserve your own.
The contemporary world which worships hastiness and superficiality, forces rituals to the background and the fact that the physical force of men is no longer the most important aspect of the continuation of life has led to the homogenization of gender roles. In light of this, the next Viljandi Folk Music Festival tries to emphasise that we do still need the feminine touch and attitude but we also cannot do without the male point of view and their way of expressing emotions both in music and in our everyday life.
The next festival is titled "MAN`S SONG". We will emphasise male songs, which are the affair of honour for men and which motivate both themselves and women and children.
Even though men and women are equally eager to share their songs and perform on the stage, men are usually outnumbered by women on the dance floors and in the workshops. We are trying to instigate men to take charge - let us rediscover masculinity and see what we can do with it!
By letting the contemporary man rediscover and diversify his role in traditional music and dance, we facilitate the development in the field and emphasise aspects of it which have been forgotten.
While choosing our foreign performers, we concentrated on the areas where the male side of culture has been strong, like Corsica, Bretagne, Georgia, Tuva, Quebec and several others. In addition to that, we are not forgetting about our own local inspiring performers like the followers of local male singing traditions or kasatski dancers which are unique to Setomaa.
Male songs honour the man and make the eyes of the women sparkle! You can come and see for yourself at Viljandi next summer.
In the meantime, do not you forget that the Traditional Music center in the Viljandi Castle Hills holds concerts throughout the year. You are more than welcome to attend the concerts, visit the café and the library and attend the courses organised by August Pulst School. The programme of the season is available here.
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