Sounds and Stories from Ruhnu Island‘s “En liten fågel” is part of a powerful effort to revive the cultural memory of Ruhnu, a small Estonian island once home to a vibrant Swedish-speaking community. This interdisciplinary project blends music, oral history, and archival research to reconnect with the island’s near-forgotten traditions, many of which were silenced after the mass departure of its inhabitants during World War II.

“En Liten Fågel” (“A Little Bird”) is the third single from the ensemble’s album Echoes of the Sea released on the 24th of March. A reinterpretation of the hymn “Den Signade Dag,” first published in 1854 and inspired by a 1938 recording of Elias Schönberg by Swedish Radio, the song reflects the island’s spiritual roots. The track features a layered violin arrangement performed by the ensemble as a tribute to the hundreds of participants who’ve contributed to preserving Ruhnu’s fiddle heritage through over a decade of camps and gatherings.

The accompanying video is dedicated to Ellen Jäger, who fled Ruhnu in 1944 as a child and has since returned every summer. Her lived experience and memories have helped shape the project’s understanding of the island’s past. Shot on location, the video offers a poignant glimpse of Ruhnu’s landscapes and layered history, with young Ellen portrayed by Laura Grete Lõbus in the traditional striped kleneng dress worn by Estonia’s coastal Swedes.

You can learn more about the project and listen to Echoes of the Sea HERE