The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

Retracing Processes of Change: the Case of the Scales of the Setu Songs
(Southeast Estonia)
193
<strong>The</strong> results for the central trichord (in tab. 2 these are shown in bold font) are the most interesting. As
one can see, the proportion between the two intervals changes significantly. In the song performed in 1996
the lower interval of the trichord becomes much wider (it is exactly between the semitone and whole tone –
1.5); the upper interval, on the contrary, becomes narrower than the equal-tempered three-semitone interval
– 2.8 semitones. Ten years later (i.e. in 2006) this tendency has increased: 1.6 and 2.4 semitones in Leiko’s
performance and 1.8 and 2.2 semitones in the song by Kuldatsäuk. <strong>The</strong> difference between the tuning of the
Leiko and Kuldatsäuk choirs, which were recorded in the same year, can be explained by the fact that the latter
choir consists of younger singers.
<strong>The</strong> process of change in the central trichord of the scale is shown graphically in the diagram (diag. 1).
Under the diagram one can also see the average year of birth of the singers in each choir (see the numbers
in brackets). It can be seen that the lower interval of the trichord rises from 0.7 to 1.8 semitones; the upper
interval, on the contrary, narrows from 3.2 to 2.2 semitones. As a result, the difference between two intervals
diminishes significantly. In the performance of the youngest choir (Kuldatsäuk) both intervals of the trichord
are close to the whole tone, but between them there is still difference of 40 cents, which provides evidence that
the old musical thinking has not completely disappeared even nowadays.
Some of the contemporary Setu singers are aware of the fact that their singing sounds different from that
of the older choirs, but unfortunately there is nothing to be done about it. <strong>The</strong> diatonization of the ancient tunes
and loss of the originality of the local musical styles is part of the general process of cultural globalisation.
We can take comfort, however, in the fact that traces of the ancient musical culture still exist in contemporary
musical practice.
Notes
1 I described this interesting phenomenon in great detail in my paper at the previous <strong>Symposium</strong> on Traditional Polyphony in
Tbilisi (Pärtlas, 2010)
References
Pärtlas, Žanna. (2004). «O ladovom “dvuiazichii” Setuskikh mnogogolocnikh pesen» (“On the Modal Bilingualism of Setu
Multi-Part Songs”). In: Mekhanizm peredachi folklornoj traditsii (<strong>The</strong> Transmission Mechanism of Folk Tradition). P. 78-90.
Editor and compiler: Абубакирова-Глазунова, Н. Н. Saint-Petersburg: РИИИ
Pärtlas, Žanna. (2010). “A “Hen-and-Egg” Problem: Interrelation Between Scale Structure and Vertical Structure in Setu
Multipart Songs”. In: Proceedings of the IV <strong>International</strong> <strong>Symposium</strong> on Traditional Polyphony. P. 336-354. Editors:
Tsurtsumia, Rusudan and Jordania, Joseph. Tbilisi: <strong>International</strong> Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi State
Conservatoire
Sarv, Vaike. (1980). «O zakonomernoctiakh stroenia zvukoriadov i ritmiki v Setuskom muzikalnom foklore (na materiale pesen
odnoi zapevali)» [“On the Regularities of Scale Structure and Rhythm System of Setu Musical Folklore (On the Material of
Songs of One First Singer)”]. In: Finno-ugorskij muzikalnij folklor i vzaimocviazi s sosednimi kulturami (Finno-Ugor Folk
Music and Interconnection with Neighboring Cultures). P. 129-145. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat
Tool, Aare. (2009). Varieeruvatest helilaadidest Setu rahvalaulus akustilise analüüsi põhjal (About the Variable Modes in the
Setu Traditional Songs on the Basis of the Acoustical Analysis). Proseminaritöö. Tallinn: Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia