A piece by the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis from the album 'Eesti Ballaadid' ('Estonian Ballads')

The Estonian Ballads are based on the lyroepic regilaul and are cemented together by the unifying part of Mother and the motif of the fate of daughters. Authentic texts (here in Standard Estonian) and original melodies from various parts of Estonia have been used. A certain similarity in the melodic material is intentional. The all-pervading unifying motif is fate.

Veljo Tormis (b 1930) is an Estonian neoclassicist composer, who features the Estonian traditional song (regilaul) heavily in his music. ('Not I make use of folk song, folk song makes use of me,' the composer has said) Most of his music is vocal centered.

Libretto:
A girl went to the forest to get a broom. A young man was standing on the hill. He made a pass at her and asked for a kiss. She stabbed him with a sharp knife and ran home crying. Her mother and father asked her what the matter was. She told them the story three times, each time with a different shade. The parents said:
'There's a good girl,
Standing up for your honour,
Killing the big dog,
Killing the highwayman.'

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