Finnish Music: "Then and Now"
by Kathy Kuivinen
The opening chords of Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia sounded the call to begin. Finlandia is one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the world even if listeners don’t know its title or who wrote it. It has been used in movies and church hymns have been written to the melody. It seems to speak many languages.
The history of music in Finland can be grouped into three major topics – Folk, Classical and Contemporary. The Kalevala epic influenced the Folk genre and Sami culture. The Kalevala form of chanting was the rhythmic beginning of Finnish music. The Sami joik was a spiritual version of this early music. Pelimanni music is the Finnish version of Nordic dance music, which makes use of many kinds of instruments – fiddles, accordions, horns and even bagpipes. There is even a contemporary rapper – Amoc – who performs using the Sami language of the Inari region of Finland. Intertwined in the more rhythmic development of Finnish music are the dances. The Jenkka, humppaa and tango are popular entertainment activities.
Sibelius leads the classical period in Finland. He wrote Finlandia in 1899, and it quickly became the symbol of Finnish nationalism. There are many reminders of his popularity in Finland – a monument, a museum and an academy devoted exclusively to the study of music.
During the 20th century, opera emerged as a favorite art form in Finland. The first Finnish opera appeared in the 1800’s but in the 1960’s the Savolinna Opera Festival made Finland an international center of the classical world.
More recently Finnish musicians have shown an unusual talent for reaching back to the old traditions and reworking the chanting and instrumentation into a unique amalgamation. The music of the group Värttinä is an example of a contemporary style, which incorporates Kalevala-style chanting, and even the kantele folk instrument. This group also co-composed the score for a new musical stage version of The Lord of the Rings.
In the contemporary music world Finland has become one of the world leaders of metal music – folk metal, symphonic metal, and even Christian metal masses. Several of the top guitarists in the world are from Finland and much in demand in the recording business. A group called Apocalyptica is an example of the Finnish talent for creating something new. This group is comprised of classically trained cellists, and they play rock music.
Finnish music is the soul of our culture. It expresses the many creative layers that make Finnish music distinctive.
