While Finland is often lumped in with its neighbors to the west, Sweden and Norway, it is not a Scandinavian country and it has roots that also stretch in other directions, making its culture and music a thing apart. The Finnish language, in fact, is closer to Estonian than Swedish or Norwegian, and though the country was a region within Sweden until the early 19th century, it was subsequently part of the Russian Empire as well (the Karelia region is still bisected, with half under Russian rule) and its music is reflection of its unique cultural and historical heritage.
Finnish music has many facets and the country as a whole has a vibrant music scene, spanning from the Romantic classical compositions of Jean Sibelius to the rich Finnish folk tradition to homegrown jazz, rock and pop. While its global pop styles have not made a huge impact abroad, the Finnish music scene has moved in tandem with global styles, producing critical acclaim for bands such as Blues Section in the 1960s, Wigwam in the 1970s, Hanoi Rocks in the 1980s and The Rasmus, which has topped European charts in recent years. While Finnish folk music is not as prevalent within Finland itself as pop or rock, and is not heard typically on the radio, there is a devoted following.
The most renowned name in Finnish music remains the classical composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), who was greatly influenced by the natural surroundings of his homeland, as well as by its folk music. His symphonic poem "Finlandia" and its "Finlandia Hymn" (with lyrics written later) are important national songs, originally written to rouse patriotic feelings towards the end of the Russian Empire's domination. He also based compositions on the music of the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala.
Early Finnish folk music was dominated by the Baltic-influenced runolaulu, or runo-song, non-rhyming epic poems such as those subsequently collected in the iconic songbook known as The Kalevala. This early period saw the rise of the kantele zither, the most Finnish of folk music instruments. The Kalevala style, leaning on alliteration, evolved into rekilaulu, where the second and fourth lines of a four-line stanza would rhyme. Music in the 18th century moved toward pelimanni music, which was more dance-oriented, and usually fronted by a fiddle, though that instrument was slowly overtaken by the powerful bellows of the accordion.
In recent decades, Finnish folk music has undergone a renaissance. Though non-professional folk musicians (often farmers) have been replaced by trained, professional musicians, this has helped make Finnish folk stronger creatively than it has ever been.
A watershed moment came in the 1980s, in the folk-music stronghold of Kaustinen, when a few farmer-musicians teamed up with younger relatives and friends, forming what would be called JPP, which stood for Järvelän Pikkupelimannit, the small fiddlers from the village of Järvelä. Two of the founding members, brothers Arto and Jouni Järvelä, could trace their family's folk-music heritage back to the 1800s. The group quickly gained a following for its artful arrangements, exemplary playing and its adoption of styles from across the country.
The annual music festival in JPP's home region of Kaustinen has been at the very heart of the Finnish folk movement. In its first year, 1968, it helped galvanize the inchoate interest in folk, bringing together 20,000 fans and doubling that number the next year. The Kaustinen region's fiddle-heavy pelimanni, or folk musician, music, though, was just one facet of Finnish traditional music.
Music from the often-overlooked region of Karelia leapfrogged over much of Finnish folk music after a group of young female singers formed the group Värttinä in 1983. What first began as a fun exercise of singing old songs their mothers taught them eventually coalesced into a professional group with, at one point, over 20 members. On the strength of their 1990 album, Oi Dai, with its rocked-up back-up band, Värttinä burst onto the international circuit. The band, with its proto-feminist lyrics and sassy character, became a source of pride across Finland. In 2007, the members co-composed the music for a London stage version of The Lord of The Rings trilogy.
A newer, but still-dear tradition in Finland has been tango music, which came to the country in the early 20th century and found a second home, developing into a more vocal-based style that deviated from its Argentinean origins. The music generally is played on accordion, rather than a bandoneon, and it is less-fiery than its South American ancestor. Still it is a partner dance, with a sense of romance, without the experimental influence of "new tango" alchemist Astor Piazzolla. In the north, the Sami people had their own highly spiritual music called joik, which had its own lesser revival subsequent to the Kaustinen festival's start.
Possibly the most important moment for all types of Finnish traditional music was in 1983, when the Sibelius Institute in Helsinki created a department dedicated specifically to folk music under the visionary leadership of Heikki Laitinen. The department not only served as a training ground for young musicians, but also became an incubator for the "folk music of the future." In an interview with Songlines, Laitinen said the goal was to "to perform the very oldest Finnish music in the most traditional way, and to be avant-garde and use the music in a new and crazy way."
The Sibelius folk music department helped launch the careers of future luminaries such as accordion player Maria Kalaniemi. Beginning her musical studies as a classical player, Kalaniemi also loved folk tunes. In 1983, she won a national competition playing traditional dance tunes and recorded a well-received album of the songs. That year, she entered the Sibelius folk program and earned a reputation as a deft accordionist who was rooted in folk music, but was eager to push the envelope, which she has done with her group Algardaz, among other collaborators.
Today, the Finnish music scene continues to thrive creatively, supported both at home and by the international network of world-music labels, venues and festivals. One of the hottest neo-traditional bands in Finland, Frigg, was created by younger relatives of the JPP founders, who joined with several alumni of the Sibelius school, uniting the rural and academic lines of the movement.-Marty Lipp
