Sounds and Stories from Ruhnu Island

Eleven square kilometers of land in the middle of the Baltic Sea that is inhabited by 65 people - Ruhnu island is special in this sense of isolation. Rich in untouched nature, the island holds in it echoing forests, wetlands, pastures and long sandy beaches with migratory birds and bats flying across the skies. Its waters are home to the Ringed and Gray Seals, species that for centuries were the livelihood of locals. Legends tell that the ancestrals of the island people were Vikings.

It is true, one could see signs of older times when discovering the island. Let’s take for example the unique wind flag of Ruhnu (old) church that depicts a dragon.

In its traditional music Ruhnu doesn’t have much in common with the mainland of Estonia since it was mostly inhabited by Swedish speaking people. The cultural divide was made more secure by the surrounding sea. All changed in 1944 when a refugee boat took passengers escaping the war and soviet forces to Sweden, their new home. Most of the islanders were on this boat (with the exception of two families) leaving behind howling dogs and their family homes.

One of the of people who refused to leave was Peeter Rooslaid. And here begins our musical adventure: Rooslaid and his father Elias Schönberg, the two masters of Ruhnu violin music, are the igniters of this whole voyage of Sounds and Stories from Ruhnu Island.

 
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