Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1845) of Juhan Maaker nicknamed Torupilli-Juss (“bagpipe Johnny,” I think), an Estonian folk musician, notably a player of the Estonian bagpipes or torupill. He was one of the most popular players in his day and called the king of bagpiper­­­s. During his lifetime Juhan Maaker performed with great success in hundreds of concert halls and became popular all over Estonia and also in Finland. In 1927-28 he took part in five concert tours in Estonia organized by August Pulst, an activist in promoting folk music in cooperation with the Estonian Open-Air Museum Society. He gave 244 concerts in total.  36 pieces performed by Juhan Maaker have been preserved and digitized from phonograph wax cylinders found in the Estonian Literature museum.

After Juhan Maaker’s nephew, Aleksander Maaker (1890–1968), died there was only one surviving bagpipe player in Estonia: Olev Roomet who became the revivalist champion of bagpipe in the country by training 25 new players in 1970’s. Nowadays, bagpipe playing is a part of the curriculum at University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy’s Traditional Music faculty and in a number of regular music schools around the country.

Take your pick of Estonian recipes to celebrate Juhan Maaker. Here is mulgikapsad (Sauerkraut with Pork and Barley), a traditional dish hailing from southern Estonia, mulgikapsad is an enriched version of sauerkraut that combines sauerkraut with barley and pork or bacon. It is a hearty dish in cold weather, reminiscent of choucroute garni. 

Ingredients

    2 lb (900 gm) sauerkraut

    ½ cup (120 ml) barley

    1 lb (450 gm) bacon

    2 onions, peeled and chopped

    salt and sugar to taste

Instructions

    Put the sauerkraut, barley, and meat in a saucepan with water to cover.

    Cover the pan and cook slowly, checking periodically to see that the water does not boil off.

    Add salt and sugar to taste as the mixture reaches the boiling point.

    The dish is cooked when the barley is tender.

    Separately, fry the onions and add them just before serving.