Veljo Tormis obituary

Estonian composer devoted to sustaining the memory of past Baltic culturesThe Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, who has died aged 86, wrote choral works based on the folksong and poetry of languages that are now disappearing or extinct. Those from the Finno-Ugric family that have established themselves in modern nations – Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian – have flourished, but several related tongues used to be heard on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The rites, poetry and music of t