Ottniell Jürissaar (27 March 1924 – 7 September 2014) was an Estonian poet, composer, and conductor.

Early life and education

Ottniell Jürissaar was born 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 ...

. His father, Johannes Jürissaar, was an inventor and small-scale industrialist. His mother Silvi (née Juhainen) was Finnish. He attended primary school in

Elva Elva may refer to: Places *Elva, Estonia, town in Tartu County, Estonia *Elva Parish, municipality in Estonia *Elva (river), a river in Estonia *Elva, Illinois, unincorporated community in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States *Elva, Manitoba, u ...

, graduating in 1938. In 1943, he graduated from

Hugo Treffner Gymnasium Hugo Treffner Gymnasium ( et, Hugo Treffneri Gümnaasium; abbreviated as HTG) is a secondary school in Tartu, Estonia with special emphasis on science education. Founded by Hugo Treffner, it was the only large secondary school in 19th-century Est ...

. He briefly studied singing at the

Tallinn Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

under instruction of Ott Raukas and was a candidate for the composition class of

Heino Eller Heino Eller (7 March 1887 – 16 June 1970) was an Estonian composer and pedagogue, known as the founder of contemporary Estonian symphonic music. Life Eller was born in Tartu, where he took private lessons in violin and music theory, played i ...

before World War II interrupted his studies.

Career and imprisonment

In 1943, Jürissaar, along with some forty classmates volunteered as soldiers of the

Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 Infantry Regiment 200 ( fi, Jalkaväkirykmentti 200, JR 200, et, Jalaväerügement 200, JR 200) or soomepoisid (''Finnish Boys'') was a unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight aga ...

. After the war, he became part of the

Forest Brothers The Guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an armed struggle which was waged by the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian partisans, called the Forest Brothers (also: the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars"; et, metsavennad, lv, mež ...

anti-Soviet partisan group. He was captured and sentenced to five to ten years forced labor at a prison camp in

Mordovia The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...

. He was released in 1954. Ottniell Jürissaar wrote about 300 songs and instrumental pieces during his imprisonment and exile, including two

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. From 1960 to 1971, Jürissaar worked as a teacher in Russian schools in

Kohtla-Järve Kohtla-Järve is a city and municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of various petrochemical products ...

. He conducted the mixed choir 'Heli' and the female choir 'Kaja'. Jürissaar then moved From Kohtla-Järve 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 ' ...

. In the early 1990s, he led the Memento Tallinn Association ensemble 'Memento'. Jürissaar wrote a number of poetry collections and memoirs, including about the Forest Brother period and his experiences in the prison camps. His stories and poetry have also been translated into Finnish and English. He has also written several children's books.

Personal life and death

Ottniell Jürissaar was a member of the Estonian Reform Party from 2013 until his death in 2014. He was buried at Tallinn's Forest Cemetery.

Awards

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

, Medal Class (2000)

Books

* ''Alleaa-Kallermaa'', published 1990, Illustrated by Asta Vender * ''Kaduviku sillal: kirjutatud metsas, vanglas, laagris'' (''On the Bridge of Disappearance: Written in the Forest, Prison, and Camp''), published 1990, compiled and edited by Urve Hermann, designed by A. Ilo * ''Kevadetüdrukud'' (''Spring Girls''), published 1993, design and illustrations by Aarne Mesikäpp * ''Rännulugusid ja vemmalvärsse'' (''Travel Stories and Doggerel Verses''), published 1991, designed by Aarne Mesikäpp * ''Sada sonetti'' (''One Hundred Sonnets''), published 1992, designs and illustrations by Aarne Mesikäpp * ''Suupillilugu'' (''A Harmonica Story''), published 2000, illustrations by Heli Kase

Selected sheet music

* ''Laule trellide ja okastraadi tagant'' (''Songs Behind Bars and Barbed Wire''), 1989 * ''Metsavennalaulud'' (''Forest Brotherhood Songs''), 1990 * ''Noorusmälestusi Soomest: 20 akordionipala'' (''Youth Memories of Finland: 20 Accordion Pieces''), 1991

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurissaar, Ottniell 1924 births 2014 deaths Estonian male poets 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century Estonian composers Estonian choral conductors Estonian songwriters Estonian children's writers Hugo Treffner Gymnasium alumni Estonian anti-communists Soviet dissidents Gulag detainees Estonian prisoners and detainees Estonian people of Finnish descent Recipients of the Order of the White Star, Medal Class Burials at Metsakalmistu Musicians from Tartu Writers from Tartu