1961–1996
○ Heart attack
The composer whose five 'Fatherland' songs became the emotional engine of the Singing Revolution
He silenced the band and, barehanded before 300,000 people, conducted the crowd as they sang 'I am Estonian and will remain Estonian.'
An Estonian composer and musician whose 'Five Patriotic Songs' cycle channeled the independence aspirations of the Singing Revolution in the late 1980s, uniting the masses in emotion. His 1987 protest ballad 'No Land Is Alone', written in solidarity with the anti-phosphorite mining movement, became the prelude to the Revolution; the five songs premiered at the Tartu Pop Festival in May 1988 and reached their peak at the 'Eestimaa Laul' concert in September, where 300,000 gathered at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. He died of a heart attack in 1996 at the age of 35, leaving nearly 200 works across diverse genres, but history remembers him above all as the composer of Estonia's independence movement.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1984Graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory, music pedagogy
- 1984Joined prog-rock band In Spe, replacing Erkki-Sven Tüür
- 1987Released 'Ei ole üksi ükski maa', a protest ballad for the anti-phosphorite mining movement
- 1988Premiered the 'Five Patriotic Songs' cycle at Tartu Pop Festival
- 1988Graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory, composition
- 1988–1989Estonian SSR Yearly Music Award
Related historical events
Work with In Spe and musical career
Mattiisen joined the progressive-rock ensemble In Spe in 1983, replacing Erkki-Sven Tüür. He worked with the group as a keyboardist and composer until 1993, participating in Estonia’s experimental popular-music scene before becoming especially known for the patriotic and protest songs of the Singing Revolution. Alongside the ensemble, he taught music at Jõelähtme School and worked as a music editor for Estonian Radio and Reklaamitelevisioon; he later pursued freelance composition. He graduated from the Tallinn State Conservatory in 1984 in music pedagogy and completed composition studies there in 1988 under Professor Eino Tamberg. His nearly 200 compositions extend beyond popular songs to two oratorios, two musicals, a short opera and a cantata, as well as orchestral, choral and instrumental works, theater and television music, film scores and electronic music. Many of his vocal works set texts by his classmate, poet Jüri Leesment, and were performed by various singers and by the ensembles In Spe and Jäääär.