Mart Saar ( in Hüpassaare – 28 October 1963) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and collector of

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

Childhood

Saar was born at the small borough of Hüpassaare (now in

Karjasoo Karjasoo is a village in Põhja-Sakala Parish, Viljandi County in central Estonia, located about west of the town of Suure-Jaani, the administrative centre of the municipality. (retrieved 28 July 2021) Most of the village's territory is covered ...

, Suure-Jaani Parish),

Kreis Fellin Kreis Fellin (''Viljandi kreis'', ''Феллинский уезд'') was one of the nine subdivisions of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northern part of the governorate (in present-day southern Estonia). I ...

in the

Livonian Governorate The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

), to Mihkel and Ann Saar (''née'' Kimmel). His father was employed in the forestry business. He was the eldest of fours siblings; Anna (1885–1968), Hans (1895–1979) and Jaan (1897–1898). He received his education in the village school at Kaansoo and the Suure-Jaani Parish school. His music teacher in the Suure-Jaani parish school was Joosep Kapp, the father of

Artur Kapp Artur Kapp (28 February 1878 – 14 January 1952) was an Estonian composer. Born in Suure-Jaani, Estonia, then part of the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire, he was the son of Joosep Kapp, who was also a classically trained musician. Ka ...

, another famous Estonian

. Additionally, Saar's father was a talented

, who gave him lessons at home.

Adult life

In 1901, Saar left home to study music at the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

. He graduated in 1908 but chose to continue his studies. After graduation in 1911, he became a music teacher in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

. Ten years later, in 1921, he moved to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

as a freelance composer and organist. He spent his summers in his native borough Hüpassaare. In August 1915, he married Elise Paalmann. The couple had two children; a daughter Heli (1917–1975) and a son, Ülo (1927–1945). The marriage ended in divorce when Elise moved to the United States in 1937, initially expecting Saar to join her. However, Saar decided that he didn't wish to leave Estonia. Saar later married Magda Elisabeth Takk and had a daughter named Tuuli.Postimees.
'Helilooja tütar kaalub Hüpassaare maja riigilt tagasiküsimist.'' 7 August 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2016.

Career

Early in his career, Saar was influenced by the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an music of the early 19th century. Later in his life, Saar combined Estonian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

with more

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

sounds. He mixed

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

s into his

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

. In addition to composing, Saar also wrote

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

to some of his

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s. Usually, these lyrics express a love for Estonia and

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

. They also address the brevity of life. Saar's lyrics have been compared to the

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

Anna Haava Anna Haava (born Anna Rosalie Haavakivi; 15 October 1864 – 13 March 1957) was an Estonian poet, writer and translator in the late 19th and 20th centuries. She was one of the founding members of the Estonian Writers' Union in 1922. She was honour ...

and

Juhan Liiv Juhan Liiv ( – ) is one of Estonia's most famous poets and prose writers. Childhood Juhan (birth names Johannes) Liiv, the son of Benjamin and Marianna Liiv (née Pärn), was born on 30 April 1864, in Alatskivi Parish (now Peipsiääre P ...

Selected works

Works for mixed chorus include: *Põhjavaim (Northern Spirit) *Seitse Sammeldunud Sängi (Seven Moss-Clad Tombs) *Oh Kodumaa (Oh, My Homeland) *Mis Sa Nutad, tammekene? (Why Are You Weeping, Oak Tree?) *Kõver Kuuseke (Crooked Fir) *Mälestus (A Memory) *Allik (Wellspring) Works for male choir include: *Küll ma Laulaks (I Would Sing) Works for female choir include: *Päikesele (To The Sun)

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

songs include: *Must Lind (Black Bird) *Lauliku Talveüksindus (Singer's Winter Loneliness)

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

music includes: *20 Rahvaviisi (20 Folk Songs) *Eesti Süidid (Estonian Suites) *Prelüüd ja Fuuga G-duur (Prelude and Fugue in G) *Humoresk (Humoresque) *Skizze (Preludes)

References

Mart Saar Biography

Examples of Saar's piano music; short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saar, Mart 1882 births 1963 deaths People from Põhja-Sakala Parish People from Kreis Fellin Estonian organists Male organists Estonian folk-song collectors Male classical composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century organists 20th-century Estonian composers 20th-century Estonian musicians 20th-century male musicians Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour