Music of Finland
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Template:Finnishmusic Much of the music of Finland is influenced by Karelian traditional tunes and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West.
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Finnish popular music
Rock music arrived in Finland in the 1950s. During the late 1960s, Blues Section, a group inspired by Jimi Hendrix and The Who gained the reputation of being "the first Finnish band of international quality". During the 1970s, progressive rock groups like Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti received critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, but fame evaded them. A hard-rocking group called The Hurriganes was popular in Sweden as well as in Finland, but not further afield. Hector, Juice Leskinen and many other successful artists of the 70s sung their lyrics in Finnish, a trend that has continued to this day.
The punk movement arrived in Finland in 1977 and had a great influence on the Finnish youth culture, Pelle Miljoona being the most famous Finnish punk singer. During that time, Finland also had a massive Ted movement of Elvis and rockabilly fans.
In 1980s most favoured artists were punkish Dingo and heavy-hearted Yö, both singing their lyrics in Finnish. Inemho the underground, Ismo Alanko, considered by many as the foremost Finnish rock lyricist, gained a legendary status with his punkish groups Hassisen Kone and Sielun Veljet. Kauko Röyhkä was another literate underground icon, leaning musically towards Velvet Underground. The 80s showed short international fame for punk style glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. Hanoi Rocks have been cited as an influence by major bands such as Guns n' Roses. Smack was another successful Finnish band of same style. Heavy metal was very popular in Finland during the 80s, producing groups like Zero Nine and Stone, the later being a speed metal act.
In 1990s Miljoonasade, Ultra Bra and the shamanic art-punk group CMX made some success with Finnish lyrics. In the end of 1990s and Darude started his short world wide success with the hit song 'Sandstorm'. The worldwide sales of 'Sandstorm' reached about 1,5 - 2 million units and, in June 2000, Darude became the first Finnish artist ever to reach top 3 position on UK's single chart. Other highly successful Finnish pop-band is the Bomfunk MC's. Their major hit was the Freestyler which sold over million copies in Europe.
Garage rock band 22 Pistepirkko got excellent reviews in the Finnish rock press and has reached some kind of a cult status in Central Europe. Some other notable Finnish cult rock groups of this era are psychedelic, Hendrixy Kingston Wall and gloomy, heavy Mana Mana.
Nightwish, Amorphis, Waltari, Stratovarius, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Children of Bodom, Charon and 69eyes have had success in European and Japanese heavy metal and hard rock scenes since the 90s.
In the field of electronic music Jori Hulkkonen as well as Jimi Tenor have had underground success worldwide for a decade. Other notable Finnish artists are Imatran Voima, Mr. Velcro Fastener, Luomo AKA Vladislav Delay, Pan Sonic and Ovuca.
In the later 90s Apocalyptica played Metallica cover songs by four cellos and sold half a million records worldwide. Timo Rautiainen ja Trio Niskalaukaus is one of Finland's most popular metal acts, which rose from the ashes of late 80s - early 90s cult band Lyijykomppania.
From the beginning of 2000 HIM reached greater sales and more international success as a dark hard rock band. Bomfunk MC's made success in Central Europe. In 2003 The Rasmus got very popular throughout the Nordic countries. During the 2000´s, the Finnish hip-hop scene has gained strength. Also the Finnish reggae has been growing more popular. Also with some success in Europe is the Pop-Rock band PMMP, with the song Rusketusraidat.
Death metal has long been popular throughout Scandinavia, including Finland, with bands such as Sotajumala, Twilight Ophera, and Scorngrain further emerging onto the world scene.
Folk music
Common instruments include trumpets, clarinets, horns and whistles, performed by virtuoso's like Leena Joutsenlahti, Teppo Repo and Virpi Forsberg. More traditional Finnish instruments include the kantele, which is a chordophone, and was used in the Kalevala by the hero Väinämöinen. The jouhikko is another instrument with a long Finnish history. Modernized bands composed of these instruments include Primo, Karelia and Tuulenkantajat, many of whom were inspired by early recordings of masters like Feodor Pratsu, a jouhikko player recorded by ethnomusicologist A. O. Väisänen in 1916.
Finnish folk song (laulu) is commonly understood to be runolaulu, a four-footed trochaic form using only the first five notes of a scale. Highly alliterative, runolaulu doesn't rhyme and frequently tells stories about heroes like Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen and Kullervo. These were the songs compiled by Elias Lönnrot in making the Kalevala, which after its second publication in 1848 inspired a rise in Finnish nationalism.
A form of rhyming sleigh song called rekilaulu became popular in the 17th century. Despite opposition from most of the churches in Finland, rekilaulu remained popular and is today a common element in pop songs. Since the 1920s, several popular Finnish performers have used rekilaulu as an integral part of their repertoire. Early pioneers in this field of pop rekilaulu included Arthur Kylander, while Erkki Rankaviita and Pinnin Pojat have kept the tradition alive.
By the beginning of the 19th century, foreign dances including polka, mazurka, schottische, minuet and polska were popular throughout Finland. These led to distinctively Finnish forms of these dance musics, including humppa and jenkka; these are collectively known as pelimanni music. Fiddles, harmoniums and accordions had arrived by then, and quickly spread through the country.
Early in the 20th century, the region of Kaustinen became a center of innovation for pelimanni music. Friiti Ojala and Antti Järvelä were influential fiddlers of the period. Konsta Jylhä and the other members of Purppuripelimannit formed in 1946 became perhaps the most influential group of this classical period.
Wellknown Finnish folk music groups of today include JPP and Frigg representing the Kaustinen sound (although the latter is part Norwegian), Troka and Värttinä. Influentual folk musicians include fiddler Arto Järvelä, keyboard player Timo Alakotila and many others.
Early Christian music in Finland
Christian music appeared in Finland immediately after the Christianization, i.e. as early as in the 12th century, with polyphony known at least from the 14th century. The royal court in Stockholm greatly influenced Finnish music during the 16th century, when Sweden after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union evolved into a centralized nation state. Hymnals were distributed during the 16th century, with an early collection of church songs (in Latin), Piae Cantiones, published in 1582. The songs date from 1350-1450.
Classical & Opera
In the 18th century, public concerts were established in Turku and Erik Tulindberg wrote six very famous string quartets. After Russia's 1809 annexation of Finland, the cities of Viipuri and Helsinki became cultural centers and opera became very popular. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/Vårt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem.
In 1874 the Society for Culture and Education (Kansanvalistusseura) was founded in order to provide opportunities for artistic expression, beginning with the Jyväskylä festival in 1881. The festival, organized on Estonian roots, still exists today. In 1882, the Helsinki University Chorus (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat) was founded as one of the few Finnish-language choirs in the mostly Finland-Swedish scene. The same year conductor Robert Kajanus founded what is known as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Martin Wegelius founded what is now known as the Sibelius Academy.
In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation.
Aino Ackté and other prominent opera singers founded the Domestic Opera in 1911. Ackté also began a festival in Savonlinna the following year; this was the ancestor of the Savonlinna Opera Festival, which appeared in the 1960s, shortly before Finnish opera became world famous in the 1970s.
Leevi Madetoja's 1924 Pohjalaisia, an operatic allegory about Russian oppression during the previous few years, became extremely popular during the 1920s. At roughly the same time, Juha, an opera by Aarre Merikanto, was virtually ignored by critics and audiences; it is now known as one of the best works of Finnish opera. The 1930s saw composers like Uuno Klami and Yrjö Kilpinen rise to popularity with nationalist works. Swedish-speaking composers like Einar Englund and Erik Bergman also worked with a more continental attitude. In the 1940s, Joonas Kokkonen and Usko Meriläinen gained popularity and added important technical innovations to Finnish music. The 1950s saw an increase in international attention on Finnish music and soon helped modernize Finnish composition.
Revival in the modern age
Since the 1960s, Sinfonia Lahti's reputation as one of the most important Scandinavian orchestras was cemented by conductor Osmo Vänskä; this helped to cause a boom in opera's popularity during the 1980s, while the form was increasingly seen as archaic elsewhere. While a return to folk and socially active music was occurring in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain, Hungary, Jamaica, Trinidad and elsewhere across the world, the Savonlinna Opera Festival reopened in 1967; this, with the Ilmajoki Music Festival and Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, quickly became musical centers for the country and helped revitalize traditional Finnish opera and folk music in a roots revival. Runosong was revitalized by a new generation of performers, including Reijo Kela, Kimmo Pohjonen and Heikki Laitinen, who created the Kelavala performance art piece. 1996's critically acclaimed Suden Aika by Tellu Virkkala saw a further return of runosong to the Finnish music scene. The International Folk Music Festival, established in 1968 in Kaustinen, was a major event in the popularization of Finnish folk. The 1970s saw further revival of Finnish folk music, including artists like Konsta Jylhä, JPP and Värttinä.
Martti Talvela and Jorma Hynninen have become international opera stars, while composers like Kalevi Aho, Olli Kortekangas, Paavo Heininen, Aulis Sallinen, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Atso Almila and Ilkka Kuusisto have written successful operas, with Rautavaara especially achieving international success.
Sami music
Main article: Sami music
The Sami (Laplanders) of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. Some non-Sami artists, including Enigma and Jan Garbarek, have used joik and other Sami styles in their music, while Marie Boine of Norway is probably the most internationally famous Sami star.
Biggest radio stations
Samples
- Download recording of "Vaka vanha Vainamoinen", Finnish-American poetry from the Kalevala from the Library of Congress' California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collection; performed by John Soininen on November 5, 1939 in Berkeley, California
References
- Cronshaw, Andrew. "New Runes". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 91-102. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
See also
External links
- Finnish Music Information Center (http://www.fimic.fi)