TALLINN, Estonia — In a sea of embroidered regional costumes and blue, black and white flags, more than 20,000 choral singers recently filled the stage of an amphitheater here, cheering their conductors and composers as though they were rock stars.

The scene was part of the Estonian song and dance celebration, known as Laulupidu, which took place this year from July 4 to 6.

The festival was founded in 1869 to resist the forces of Russification.

As Estonia fought its way to independence from Russia and the Soviet Union, in 1918 and then again in 1991, choral singing remained a way to preserve the Estonian language and traditions.

An unofficial edition of Laulupidu that took place in 1988 in open defiance of Moscow is known as the “Singing Revolution.”

Read the whole story about Estonian Song Festival in New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/arts/music/estonias-revolutionary-spirit-embodied-in-music.html?_r=4