Music of Finland
The indigenous music of Finland is based on the centuries-old folk song tradition of the Finns. Since the Christianization of the country, the Finnish music took on momentum pan-European musical traditions and participated in their development, first in the sacred music, and later in the folk and art music. In the 20th century, developed with new media such as phonograph and radio Finnish popular music; Today, Finland has achieved several internationally successful rock and pop bands.
Folk music
The Finnish folk music draws from two sources. The elderly represent the folk songs today often referred to as Kalevala music, where even the myths of the Finns were recited in pre-Christian times. This pagan themes were handed down orally from generation to generation and were still in the 19th century in eastern Finland, but especially among the Finns with the closely related Karelians alive when Elias Lönnrot and other national romantics began to collect these verses and melodies. This " Runes" (Finnish runo ) mentioned songs were sung mostly in simple pentatonic melodies, either by a soloist or in antiphonal singing, accompanied by the kantele. This stringed instrument was invented according to the legend of Väinämöinen; it is now regarded as Finnish " National Instrument ".
The second tradition is the so called pelimanni music (Swedish spelman, " minstrel " ), the spread starting in the 17th century from Central and Eastern Europe via Sweden to Finland. In contrast to the runes pelimanni songs are tonal, kept the texts in the usual European stanzas and rhyme forms. Orchestrated this form of folk music with fiddle, accordion and clarinet and later with, but also the kantele was partly supplemented by several strings, and thus adapted to the new sound system. Preferred forms of pelimanni music in particular, the so-called Polska, moreover, Polonaises and Mazurkas, since the 19th century also Polka, Scottish and waltz.
With the establishment of an annual summer festival in Kaustinen began in 1968 continues to this day renaissance of the Finnish folk and folk music. Musicians like Konstan Jylhä made the old Finnish musical traditions also popular among the younger generation. In the 1990s, succeeded bands like Värttinä, Loituma and JPP, as part of the "world music " is also an international audience reach. In this context, has become well known artists such as Nils- Aslak Valkeapää, Angelit and Wimme also the guttural vocals Joik the seeds, an independent and fundamentally different from the Finnish song forms idiom, a wider public.
A unique Finnish art form is the itkuvirsi ( lament ). These songs are presented exclusively by women, in content it is here mostly for the death of a son in the war. Lamentations are sung a cappella. Usually the singer has a handkerchief in his hand, in which she sobs into it. This music form is maintained until today, there are even competitions, as well as research from the Sibelius Academy.
Classical
The first classical composers in Finland occurred only towards the end of the 18th century in urban centers such as Turku and Viipuri forth to call here are Erik Tulindberg and the brothers Carl Ludvig and Fredrik Emanuel Lithander. As a father of Finnish classical music is considered, however, the Hamburg native Fredrik Pacius that from 1835 the German romantic idiom mediated by Finland by his teaching in Helsinki and took such great influence on the development of the following generations. Pacius composed in 1848 after a poem of Runeberg Tales of Ensign Stål, the current Finnish national anthem Maamme. His opera Hunt of King Charles in 1852 premiered in Swedish; it is regarded as the first Finnish opera. After a first Finnish -language opera Pohjas followed daughter of Oskar Merikanto, the father of Arre Merikanto, the most important composers of the twenties. Other composers Einar Englund, Erik Bergman, Joonas Kokkonen, Kalevi Aho, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Leif Segerstam, Aulis Sallinen, Kalevi Aho.
Also, the early work by Jean Sibelius ' (1865-1957) is decisively influenced by German Romanticism, and bonds to the Finnish folk music, but he was especially with its end pointing in the Modern Violin Concerto and later orchestral works for most internationally acclaimed Finnish composer. His music is an identity with their national romantic pathos for the Finns to a great extent and for the younger Finnish composer Sibelius a sort of figure, with or against which they define their own work. Sibelius, who is considered the father of Finnish music has, in addition to his melodramas and music for the stage only made a small opera experiment, with the one-act play The Virgin in the Tower, 1986.
From the turn of the century until the late twenties over 80 operas were written. But only Armas Launis and Leevi Madetoja be highlighted, as well Arre Merikantos Opera Juha of 1922.
More recently, following the revival of the opera festival in Savonlinna 1967, especially the operas by Kalevi Aho, Aulis Sallinen or Einojuhani Rautavaara learn observance of internationally under the opera singers bass Kim Borg, Martti Talvela and Matti Salminen. The classic offspring is formed at the prestigious Sibelius Academy, the only music high school in the country. From the Conductor 's Forge Academy went grandees such as Leif Segerstam, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jukka -Pekka Saraste forth. With more than 30 symphony orchestras Finland is likely to be the country with the world's greatest orchestra density.
Popular music
The Finnish Schlager ( Iskelmä ), who has enjoyed the beginning of the 20th century some popularity is largely unknown internationally. Goods are in part still animated by strong artistic merit, the compositions in the past, such as the songs of George Malmsténs and the couplets of Reino Helismaa and Tapio Rautavaara, the current Finnish pop is too with stars like Katri Helena and Annika Tähti mostly as shallow entertainment music call and is scorned accordingly by the younger generation. The German Schlager is in the Finnish musical and socio-cultural terms quite comparable, so it is not surprising that Finland was one of the few export markets of the German pop scene in the 1960s and 1970s; vice versa could celebrate successes in Germany, the Finn Marion Rung. A special feature is the Finnish tango, who had his wedding in the 1940s and 1950s with the success of "Tango King" Olavi Virta. In particular, Unto Mononens composition Satumaa ( " Wonderland" ), which in the interpretation Reijo Taipales became famous in 1962, is considered the epitome of Finnish melancholy. Pop, tango, waltz, and humppa Jenkka are traditionally invited to be a couple dance in the numerous tanssilavat, in the dance pavilion, most of which are located outside the lakeside towns.
The fact that the Finnish popular music internationally does not enjoy particularly good repute, can be seen, among others, the results of the widely acclaimed in Finland Euro Vision Song Contest, in which the country since his first participation in 1961 with some regularity occupied the lower ranks. It was not until 2006, appearing in monster costumes hard rock band Lordi scored the first Finnish victory in this competition. This success has certainly helped crucial that the winning song Hard Rock Hallelujah was presented in English. At Lordi also a certain oddity can fix that is characteristic of many Finnish bands. While the neighboring country Sweden spawned numerous broad-based pop bands in recent decades, Finland is known primarily for performers at the edges and beyond the mainstream in terms of music today. This applies not least to the Leningrad Cowboys, who are at least known as much for their impressive hairstyles and shoes as for its idiosyncratic interpretations of well known pop and rock songs that Humppagruppe Eläkeläiset with their cover versions of international hits and their idiosyncratic occurrence, and for the screaming male Choir Mieskuoro Huutajat. In the experimental electronic music include Pan Sonic, Aavikko and Jimi Tenor of the most famous performers. Pepe Deluxe also have established themselves internationally.
So Finland is also home to many metal bands like Waltari, Norther, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Amorphis, Sonata Arctica, Wintersun, Stratovarius, Uniklubi and Finntroll. Is the success of these bands mostly limited to the subculture, as some bands have been able to celebrate abroad charts success with more conventional rock music, especially Children of Bodom, Nightwish, HIM, Sunrise Avenue, The 69 Eyes and The Rasmus. Among the most famous singing in Finnish bands include Teräsbetoni, Eppu Normaali and Zen Café. Since the 1990s there with acts like Fintelligens also a rugged hip- hop scene; the Bomfunk MC's Freestyler also succeeded in 2000 with an international hit.
The Finnish jazz - rock band Tasavallan Presidentti by guitarist Jukka Tolonen applied since the seventies as the most famous jazz-rock formation in Scandinavia.