Aleksander Kunileid / Lydia Koidula “Mu isamaa on minu arm” (My Native Land, My Dearest Love) for male choir

Music by: Aleksander Kunileid
Lyrics by: Lydia Koidula
Male choir TTBB, a cappella
About the work: Aleksander Kunileid wrote the choral song “My Native Land, My Dearest Love” to the earlier published (1867 collection “Emmajõe Öpik“) text of Lydia Koidula in the beginning of 1869. Carl Robert Jakobson inspired the author to create music for Koidula’s words. The original version was created for mixed choir, of which C. R. Jakobson ordered settings for male choir from Adolf Henselt and Ernst Meyer. At the 1st Singing Celebration, Adolf Henselt’s arrangement was included in the program, the same arrangement is also printed in the songbook of the 1st Singing celebration. Kunileid’s own male choir version of this song was published in C. R. Jakobson’s “Sounds of Wanemuine kannel. Men’s choirs with four voices. Published by C.R.Jakobson for Estonian Singing Holiday in 1869”. The edition of the Music Shelf is based on the latter, the author’s own original version. Sources: Paul Rummo “The Story of One Song”, Journal “Looming” 1961, No. 1, p. 111, Songs of the 50th Anniversary of the Estonian Nation: Tartu, 1869
Music Shelf notes: The musical text of this publication corresponds exactly to the original. Some parts of the Text are modernized: “Mu isamaa”(orig. “Mo isamaa”), “mu ülem õnn”(orig: “mo ülem õn”), “mu õitsev”(orig: “mo õitsew”), “su valu”(orig: “so walu”), “su õnn” (orig: “so õn”), “ei teda jäta ma”(orig: “ei teda jätta ma”), “peaksin sada surma ma”(orig: “peaks sada surma ma”), “võõra kadedus”(orig: “wõera kadedus”), “tahan puhata”(orig: “tahan puhkada”), “su rüppe”(orig: “so rüppe”), “mu põrmust”(orig: “mo põrmust”).