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I just spent two days in Tallinn, where I had a place just opposite of Kaarli kirik, with the window facing towards Toompea.

Every morning at 7am, I woke up to a short melody that seemed to be played by a brass ensemble. The piece is some 9 measures long and repeats 3 times (the last two or three notes are held a bit longer on the third repetition).

This is approximately how it sounds (score recreated from memory):

Score (recreared from memory)

What is this piece, and where does it come from?

user149408
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1 Answers1

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This information comes from the Pikk Hermann article on Wikipedia and a trip report by a woman named Abbey.

Every morning, the Estonian flag is raised on a tower of the Toompea Castle in Tallinn. The tower is called either Tall Hermann or Pikk Hermann. When the flag is raised, a portion of the national anthem is played which can be heard in the surrounding area.

Although the flag raising and lowering are supposed to occur at dawn and sunset, they never occur before 7am or after 10pm.

The anthem is "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" (My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy).

When the flag is lowered, "Mu isamaa on minu arm" (My Fatherland is My Love) is played.

user149408
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mkennedy
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