Ilomaile. Anthology of Estonian Folk Songs with Translations and Commentary

by Juhan Kurrik, afterword by Madis Arukask

Book cover: Ilomaile. Anthology of Estonian Folk Songs with Translations and Commentary

Extent: 384 pages

Publisher: University of Tartu Press

Subjects: Literary Studies

Language: English, Estonian

Hardback (Published)

(December 2013)

ISBN: 9789949324088

Price: $27.00

On back order

The oral traditions of Estonia have a history that dates back millennia. The most remarkable of them is the archaic folk song, regilaul. While cross-currents from East to West have left their traces in Estonia, the folk song preserves its ancient meter and its archaic language. Ilomaile, compiled and commented upon by Juhan Kurrik, was first published in 1985 in Toronto (publisher Vello Salo/Maarjamaa). The book is an excellent source for making the Estonian (and Setu) regilaul texts accessible outside the Estonian language space. This is also the reason why a new edition of the book (hard cover) has been published for the international readership. The anthology embraces a wide range of songs providing a comprehensive overview of the Estonian treasury of regilaul from both a thematic and geographic perspective. The current edition offers a supplement by Madis Arukask about the present state of research and further readings on regilaul.


The oral traditions of Estonia have a history that dates back millennia. The most remarkable of them is the archaic folk song, regilaul. While cross-currents from East to West have left their traces in Estonia, the folk song preserves its ancient meter and its archaic language. Ilomaile, compiled and commented upon by Juhan Kurrik, was first published in 1985 in Toronto (publisher Vello Salo/Maarjamaa). The book is an excellent source for making the Estonian (and Setu) regilaul texts accessible outside the Estonian language space. This is also the reason why a new edition of the book (hard cover) has been published for the international readership. The anthology embraces a wide range of songs providing a comprehensive overview of the Estonian treasury of regilaul from both a thematic and geographic perspective. The current edition offers a supplement by Madis Arukask about the present state of research and further readings on regilaul.

  • By (author) Juhan Kurrik
  • Afterword by Madis Arukask