17 - The music in Finland

A MUSIC DIFERENT THAT WE USE TO HAER IN FRANCE 

When I came in Finland, what I directly noticed was the music that was so different that I could hear it on the radio when I went to the gym. Of course, they listen to American songs like us, but they also have their own songs which we're not necessarily used to listening to in France.

FOLK MUSIC

The origin of the musical tradition merges with that of popular poetry, whose bards have been singing the runes for centuries to the sound of the kantele, the popular instrument par excellence. Endowed with magical power by the ancient Finns, music was the means to defeat the most hostile forces. Today, folk music still feeds on the past. From the old kantele to the weak and lyrical voice, a concert instrument with about forty strings has been developed. Its practice, included in school curricula, is now accepted in several conservatories and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Finnish music also bears the imprint of Christianity, which has been grafted onto the Palenne strain. Introduced by the Catholic Church, choral singing would later find its place in Lutheran and Orthodox parishes. This tradition is still alive, and that's how I discovered it by chance through a choir that was in the cathedral of Turku. Sami music, on the other hand, is traditionally sung in one voice without an instrument. It is very melodious and includes legends related to nature. The boreal tango is honoured every year in the town of Seinajoki.

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957) 

I discovered this article thanks to the monument dedicated to him in Helsinki.

Finnish music remains closely associated with its greatest representative: Jean Sibelus (1865-1957). Famous all over the world, he is fun of the great composers of the Xo century. His music exhorts his people to resist russfication. His most famous work. Finlandia, is a true hymn to Finnish patriotism. The symphonic poem. Tapiola, is directly inspired by the traditional repertoire of folk poetry. The lacquered berte Sibelius treats the theme of the Kalevala apparat in a rargument that he included in the score of this composition Dark northern forests Ancient, mysterious, wild dreams that oftentimes the powerful forest god resides there And the wood spirits weave magical secrets in the darkness. Good to know: there are some very famous classical music festivals in Finland, including the Savonlinna Festival, which takes place every summer.



EMERGENCE OF FINNISH METAL 

In 1999, the Finnish band Bomfunk MC's became famous with their hit Freestyler, which remained number one in European sales for a long time and finally received the MTV Music Award in 2000. The success of the Helsinki-based band The Rasmus on the release of their sixth album Dead letters in 2003 is a testament to the vitality of the burgeoning Finnish music scene. Energetic and carried by a very marked taste for dark lyrics and melodies as bewitching as efficient, Finnish metal illustrates biến the dynamism of a youth that wants to make its voice heard and gathers all the subgenres of this style of music, namely love metal, gothic, death metal, classical metal and symphonic metal! The bands that have followed them and the most famous are Negative, Nightwish, Apocalyptica, HIM or Stratovarius. This demier led by the opera singer Tarja distils her epic orchestrations where powerful choirs mingle with violins, trumpets, tubas, percussions and harps. Sibelius and his Finlandia are finally never far away, revisited in an electric way by the ardour and imagination of musicians who have no complexes and are determined to impose their tormented style. In 2006, the band Lordi, the one who made a lasting impression with their monster masks on stage, won Eurovision. We then talk about "monster metal". In 2013, Alma Miettinen made a name for themselves at the Finnish Idols show, a rival to The Voice, and are now in the top six in Germany. With a volx between Adele and Beth Ditto, she climbs up the ladder quickly and is now performing in the United States. With her personality and "cyber gothic" style with long hair in either pink or fluorescent yellow, Alma is now a critically acclaimed Finnish "new hope".

OTHER CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 

Finns listen to a lot of hip-hop called suomirap in the local dialect. The most famous artists are Pyhimys, Elastinen or Paleface who has an international success with his album Cools Sheiks Featuring Damn the Band: Serve Cool. The Finnish jazz scene is also well developed with big festivals such as Espoo or Pori. The Finns have even created a style of jazz, the humppa! The promising new generation is embodied by bands such as the duo Milo (guitarist) and Moses (drummer). The Jazz Finland website (www.jazzfinland.fi) allows you to discover many other local jazzmen. More surprising is the enormous success of Argentinean tango in Finland since the 1940s with many popular music composed on the same rhythm. The best known performers are Toivi Karki, Olavi Virte and Tango-orkesteri Unto.