Finnish Phenomenon... with some Frosini on the side

[My apologies for any font-related anomalies in this post, be it color or size. I have not been able to resolve them thus far, but I did not wish to delay any longer publishing this. Neil]

Finnish music has been on my mind a lot lately, and the recent opening of Finland’s new concert hall is just the latest manifestation. On the last day of August, the Helsinki Music Center (Helsingin musiikkitalo) had its inaugural concert. It is now the home of both the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the Sibelius Academy, Finland’s primary music conservatory. 

The Helsinki Music Center’s Facebook page recently posted links to a couple of articles about it that are quite interesting (the second one is by Norman Lebrecht):

www.toronto.com/article/699654

www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/4138/full

Earlier in August, the Bard Music Festival at Bard College in New York was centered around the music of Sibelius. Although I couldn’t attend, there were interesting reports and reviews published describing the various events. Additionally, all through the summer, a series of radio programs called ”13 Days When Music Changed Forever” produced by WFMT in association with the San Francisco Symphony and narrated by Suzanne Vega, was aired on classical stations. Cited therein, alongside the first performances of such works as Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, was the premiere of Sibelius’s tone poem Tapiola (26 December 1926). My connection with the music of Finland has probably been not unlike that of most people who are not Finnish – generally beginning and ending with the music of Sibelius, at least up until recently. Classical music in Finland is not marginalized to the extent it has become here in the U.S. It is a thriving enterprise there, and there are many contemporary Finnish composers who have gained prominence, such as Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaija Saariaho, and numerous others. Yet I must admit I have not heard their music. Several Finnish conductors like Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Esa-Pekka Salonen (who also composes) populate the international music scene. Finland can also boast of a number of famous opera singers such as bass Matti Salminen, the late bass Martti Talvela, and soprano Karita Mattila, just to name a few.

JEAN SIBELIUS

As for Sibelius, well, we all know ”Finlandia”, of course; and that work was featured, naturally, in the Helsinki Music Center’s inaugural program. The Violin Concerto is a repertoire staple as well, and I first got to know it as a teenager from the Heifetz recording on RCA with Walter Hendl conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Regularly heard in the repertoire are the Swan of Tuonela, the Karelia Suite, Pohjola’s Daughter, and at least a couple of his seven symphonies, the second most often and #5 somewhat less so; #4 is gaining ground of late as well. (A new set of the seven symphonies has just been reviewed in the October issue of Gramophone magazine featuring the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä.) As a young piano student, I had learned his ”Romance”.  In the mid-1970s, I remember hearing a rare New York City performance of the choral symphony Kullervo, Op. 7, of which I own a complete recording. And around the same time, a close friend had sung a set of Sibelius songs on the radio. If I felt an affinity for the music of Sibelius (and perhaps it was owing just a little bit to the fact that we shared a birthday, 8 December), it has been no more so than my affinity for the music of many other composers. Yet  I will admit to a slight bit of tacit admiration for the fact that Joseph Patelson, the late owner of the eponymous sheet music emporium in which I had been employed, regarded Sibelius as his favorite composer; and the composer’s  portrait was featured prominently behind his desk.

I do have one other admittedly rather thin connection to Sibelius. Erik Werner Tawaststjerna (10 October 1916 – 22 January 1993) was a pianist, critic, teacher, and personal friend of Sibelius. He produced one of the composer’s definitive biographies. Tawaststjerna also produced a son, Erik Thomas Tawaststjerna. Tawaststjerna the younger, also a pianist, and carrying the torch as it were, has recorded the complete piano works of Sibelius in six volumes for BIS Records. When I was taking music courses at New York University, one of my classmates was a pianist of prodigious pedagogical pedigree originally from Taiwan named Hui-Ying Liu. Hui-Ying later married Erik T. Tawaststjerna and moved to Helsinki. Now, both professors of piano at the Sibelius Academy, they appear to be Helsinki’s piano pedagogy power couple.

A DIFFERENT TRADITION

If one is interested, one can easily find comprehensive surveys, in the pages of Wikipedia and elsewhere, of Finnish music in general, or of Sibelius’s music. Finland has a vibrant popular music industry as well; another topic for which Wikipedia provides an interesting and comprehensive survey. I want to talk about something one rarely encounters outside of Finland, however, and that is a bit of Finnish folk music that has pervaded Finnish popular culture to a remarkable extent, and that is the ”Säkkijärven Polkka”.

The Säkkijärven polkka is one of a number of Finnish polkas (and there is in fact one called simply Finnish Polka,) but the combination of its sheer hook-filled catchiness and a most interesting tidbit of history is what most likely accounts for its great popularity in Finland. It’s, at heart,  a simple yet compelling little ditty in a minor key; it seems to have a palpable resonance amongst the Finnish people, from the evidence I’ve found. I came upon it purely by accident, a chance click on a YouTube link. I will illustrate this discussion prodigiously with YouTube links that I hope will be informative and entertaining. At the very least, it’s probable that this piece will worm its way into your brain (as it has mine). You may find yourself awake at night with the wiggly tune chasing itself around like mice on speed. Consider yourself forewarned!

Although Säkkijärven polkka is regarded as a folk tune, and no specific composer’s name is attached to it, it is in the arrangement of Finnish accordionist Viljo “Vili” Vesterinen (1907-1961) that it has become best known. Vesterinen was self-taught in accordion, although he had studied piano and cello, and became a popular performer who made some 130 recordings as well as a few film appearances. Notably, those include a 1955 film about his own life called “Säkkijärven polkka”. 

 

His career eventually declined along with his health, as he struggled with alcoholism (as had Sibelius) and cigarette use. The only film of him I can find on YouTube is this brief one; here he is in uniform, performing the popular accordion bolero classic by Pietro Frosini La Mariposita. (Check out the ring on Vili’s right index finger!) [See below for an update on this piece of music.]

Vesterinen’s most popular recording, undoubtedly, is the Säkkijärven polkka which he made on 17 June 1939. Here is that historic recording. 

THE WAR YEARS

1939 marked the beginning of a long and arduous period in the history of Finland: the two wars Finland fought with the Soviet Union during World War II are almost never touched upon in the U.S. These include the Winter War and the Continuation War, with an Interim Peace which must not have been at all peaceful in actuality. I think it is useful to know something about these wars to put into proper perspective the eventual significance of the little piece of music under discussion. Thus, here are the respective introductions of the lengthy and detailed Wikipedia articles on these two wars [and I recommend the full articles to anyone wishing to delve further]:

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet Invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939.

The Soviet forces had three times as many soldiers as the Finns, 30 times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. The Red Army, however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s Great Purge of 1937, reducing the army's morale and efficiency shortly before the outbreak of the fighting. With more than 30,000 of its army officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, the Red Army in 1939 had many inexperienced senior officers. Because of these factors, and high commitment and morale in the Finnish forces, Finland was able to resist the Soviet invasion for far longer than the Soviets expected.

Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded 11% of its pre-war territory and 30% of its economic assets to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses on the front were heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered. The Soviet forces did not accomplish their objective of the total conquest of Finland, but did gain sufficient territory along Lake Ladoga to provide a buffer for Leningrad. The Finns, however, retained their sovereignty and enhanced their international reputation.

The peace treaty thwarted the Franco-British plan to send troops to Finland through northern Scandinavia. One of the Allied operation's major goals had been to take control of northern Sweden’s iron ore and cut its deliveries to Germany.

Winter War

On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact where parties divided the independent countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania into spheres of interest, with Finland falling to the Soviet sphere of interest. Shortly afterward, Germany invaded Poland so the United Kingdom and France declared war against Germany. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on 17 September. Next, Moscow demanded that the Baltic states allow the establishment of Soviet military bases and the stationing of troops on their soil. The Baltic governments accepted ultimatums, signing the corresponding agreements in September and in October.

In October 1939, the Soviet Union attempted to negotiate for Finnish territories on the Karelian Isthmus, the islands of the Gulf of Finland and a military base near the Finnish capital Helsinki. The Finnish government refused, and the Red Army attacked on 30 November 1939. Condemnation by the League of Nations and by countries all over the world had no effect on Soviet policy. International help to Finland was planned, but very little actual help materialized, except from Sweden. The Moscow Peace Treaty, which was signed on 12 March 1940, ended the Winter War. The Treaty was severe for Finland as the country lost one eleventh of its national territory and about 13 percent of its economic capacity. However, Finland had avoided having the Soviet Union annex the whole country.

Interim peace

The outcome of the Winter War was bitter for Finland and left a deep trauma. The country's foreign policy had been based on multilateral guarantees for support from the League of Nations and Nordic countries and was considered a failure. Public opinion favored the re-conquest of Finnish Karelia. The defense of the country was declared first priority and military expenditures rose to nearly half of government spending. Finland received war material purchased and donated during and immediately after the Winter War. On the southern frontier, the Soviet Union had acquired a military base in Hanko near the Finnish capital of Helsinki, employing over 30,000 military personnel.

Finland also had to resettle some 420,000 evacuees from the lost territories. To ensure the supply of food, it was necessary to clear new land for them to cultivate. This issue was facilitated with the Rapid Settlement Act. The Finnish leadership wanted to preserve the spirit of unanimity that was commonly felt throughout the country during the Winter War. The divisive White Guard tradition of the Civil War 16 May victory day celebration was therefore discontinued. Relations between Finland and the Soviet Union remained strained despite the signing of the one-sided peace treaty and there were disputes regarding the implementation of the conditions of the treaty. Finland sought security against further territorial depredations by the Soviet Union and proposed mutual defense agreements with Norway and Sweden, but these initiatives were quashed by Moscow.

The Continuation War (25 June 1941 – 19 September 1944) was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.

At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War. The Soviet Union saw the war as a part of its struggle against Germany and its allies, the Eastern Front of World War II or, as it was known in the Soviet Union, the Great Patriotic War. Germany regarded its operations in the region as a part of its overall war efforts of World War II. It provided critical material support and military cooperation to Finland.

Acts of war between the two countries started on 22 June 1941, the day Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union. Open warfare started with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post-Winter War cessations on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, and captured East Karelia by September 1941. Furthermore Finland passively participated in the siege of Leningrad for two and a half years.  Accordingly the Soviet air forces bombed Helsinki and other major cities. Eventually the Soviet strategic offensive in the summer of 1944 drove the Finns from most of the territories they had gained during the war but the Finnish Army later fought it to a standstill, leading to the Moscow Armistice in September. The Paris peace treaty concluded the war formally in 1947. Finland ceded Petsamo and rented Porkkala to the Soviet Union, and paid reparations of $300,000,000 equaling half of its annual gross domestic product in 1939, while Finland retained its independence.

I do want to take note of one further section of the article on the Continuation War, regarding the Jews in Finland:

Finland had a small (approx. 2,300) Jewish population. They had full civil rights and fought shoulder to shoulder with other Finns in the ranks of the Finnish Army. The Germans had mentioned the Finnish Jews at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, wishing to transport them to Majdanek in General Gouvernment. SS leader Heinrich Himmler mentioned the Finnish Jews during his visit in Finland in the summer of 1942. Finnish Prime Minister Jukka Rangell replied that Finland had no Jewish question. However, there were differences for Jewish refugees in Finland. In November 1942, the Finns handed eight Jewish refugees over to the Gestapo. This raised protests among the Finnish Social Democrat ministers, and after this no more refugees were handed over. Over 500 Jewish refugees were granted asylum.

The field synagogue in Eastern Karelia was one of the very few functioning synagogues on the Axis side during the war. There were even several cases of Jewish officers of Finland's army awarded the German iron Cross, which they declined. German soldiers were treated by Jewish medical officers who succeeded in saving their lives.

Interesting, no?

Now, here’s where we come back to the topic at hand. During the Continuation War, the Finnish Army discovered that the retreating Soviet Red Army had scattered radio-controlled mines throughout the re-captured city of Viipuri. These mines were set off when a three-note chord was played on the frequency to which the radio was tuned, causing three tuning forks (of which each mine had a unique combination) to vibrate simultaneously. Once the Finnish Army and Yleisradio experts discovered how the mines worked, a Yleisradio mobile transmitter was brought to Viipuri, and Vesterinen's 1939 recording of Säkkijärven polkka was played on the same frequencies the mines used. This operation continued for over three months, until the batteries of the mines were drained. Although the civilians thought the radio station staff had gone nuts, the music’s tempo was fast enough and the melody sufficiently varied to foil the Soviet mines.

 

SÄKKIJÄRVI

Säkkijärvi (which translates to “Sack Lake” or even “Bag Lake”) was a village near the Gulf of Finland in South Karelia founded in 1572. Its precise location is 60°37’18.736”N 28°10’2.1792”E, some 40km west of Viipuri. It was part of what had been ceded to the Soviets in 1944; thus, though briefly called Ulyanovka, it is now known as Kondratjevo (after Col. P. Kondratiev [1909-1943]) in the Leningrad Oblast. With a Säkkijärvi population of 8685 in 1939, the population of Kondratjevo in 2008 was a mere 1012.

A humorous story goes: A man from Säkkijärvi, a displaced Karelian traveling in central Finland, stopped to ask for lodging for the night. The man of the house asked where his home village is, and, upon hearing it was Säkkijärvi, said “Well I don’t know – I’ve heard that every third person in Säkkijärvi is a thief, and the other two are musicians.” “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m one of the musicians”.

SÄKKIJÄRVEN POLKKA

So here we have our famous little mine-disrupting Soviet-foiling polka named for a lost village. What has completely amazed me is that there are now dozens and dozens of different versions of Säkkijärven polkka to be found on YouTube; no telling how many times it has been recorded in audio media. It has been described as the “Finnish accordionists’ national anthem”; so naturally, there are numerous videos of accordionists, young and old; accordion solos, duets, quartets, sextets, and larger ensembles of all sizes. There’s one video of an accordionist actually standing in a lake. There are also versions with piano, guitar, banjo, harmonica, brass ensemble, and even solo tuba and bass fiddle. Although not on video, there’s an audio recording from 2002 by the aforementioned Lahti Symphony Orchestra and conductor Osmo Vänskä available for download on Amazon or iTunes. Certainly one of the most unusual audio versions is another I've downloaded from iTunes featuring virtuoso whistler Leo Eide. Nokia, the Finnish cellphone company (Finns are reportedly resigned, albeit with pity, that many mistake Nokia for a Japanese company) had for a time offered Säkkijärven polkka as a ring tone on their phones. Supposedly one can still acquire it. And it shows up in electronic form in a music video game In The Groove (commercial multiplayer machine dance game iDance and iDance2) as “Hardcore of the North” (!). The Säkkijärven polkka has been performed in a variety of styles as well, from hard rock to choral to a “Swingle Singers”-type of vocal version (which has actually been done by several different ensembles - frequently with staging effects), and to at least one modern jazz version.

So many of the YouTube videos, even when the piece itself may be less than spectacularly executed, nevertheless have something to recommend them, that it is difficult to choose amongst them. I want to present a variety so that one can get inside the music; and to show how just about everyone wants a crack at it. I find, now having heard the polka many times over, that I only think of it as itself, not in any one version of it.

The Säkkijärven polkka is one of those pieces which, like Kodaly’s Hary Janos, or even Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, starts off with a sneeze. (If played on accordion, the sneeze is a squeeze!) (I was surprised to learn, speaking of which, that Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture had been transcribed for accordion solo (!) by the composer of the bolero Vili Vesterinen performed in that film clip, none other than the early accordion virtuoso Pietro Frosini [1885-1951])

The polka itself is in an A-B-A format; its main tune depends on a basic tonic/dominant alternation. [The accordion sheet music I was able to download (and which I’ve found nowhere else) is in an edition copyrighted 1979 by Musikki Faber, Helsinki. Many performers have obviously used differing versions.] The A section is in 4 distinct parts, all in C minor: 8 bars, repeated; 8 bars followed by another 8 bars which are a variation on the preceding 8 and which may be done an octave higher; and another 8 bars, repeated (up an octave). That last 8-bar section features a series of running 16th notes (semiquavers) that put me in mind of Beethoven’s Waldstein piano sonata: in the 1^st movement transitional passage from the first to second subject, bars 23-26 and later 64-65 in the exposition (in E minor); and bars 184-187 and later 225-226 in the recapitulation. (I have no idea what level of piano study Vesterinen received early on or whether he would have encountered the Waldstein; it’s not the same, but I’m struck by the similarity. I actually think it’s pure coincidence.) The B section (Trio) is in F minor. This section has 16 bars followed by another 16 which are a variation of the previous 16 (again may be an octave higher). Some performers on accordion use this section to display their bellows-shaking technique. Then it’s back to the A section which, in this publication, is just the initial 8 bar section. In performance, if they’re jammin’, they may just go on and on, repeating ad libitum.

Here is accordionist Jussi Marttinen in a video I keep coming back to. Nicely executed with fluid fingerwork, capturing the essence. He shakes those bellows into submission in the Trio. (You may also wish to follow a link to another well done performance he does as a duet with a second accordionist.)

This next example clearly is a studio recording of Pertti Kynkäänniemi with accompaniment, with a counter-melody for second accordion most likely overdubbed by himself. So we’re not really hearing his performance in the lake. (In it!)

I don’t really know whose version this is, but I do like it a lot. (Also, it’s not really as long as it looks. The last minute and a half are blank.)

"Sone bangers" accordion quartet (it says) do a similar one.

Lasse Hoikka & Souvarit are another accordion quartet here providing a more plush rendition. Pretty infectious!

Ready for a little change of pace? The Jukka Tolonen Band in 1978 will refresh you.

O.S.S.Y. This one’s got groupies and will only waste a couple of minutes of your life.

Leningrad Cowboys are a Finnish rock band that has made a number of albums and a few films. Here’s a short clip from one of them, “Leningrad Cowboys Go America” (1989). What’s up with the hair?

VOCALS

At the time Vesterinen made his recording, Säkkijärvi was still part of the southeast province of Finland. Some time after the war, in 1953 actually, words were written by Repe Helismaa, retrofitted one might say, which express wistfulness at the loss of Säkkijärvi but taking bittersweet consolation that… well, at least we still have the polka. [I’m greatly indebted to Hanna Granlund, a formidable breeder of Skye terriers in Finland, for this translation.]

Esa Pakarinen & Eemeli (Esko Olavi "Eemeli" Toivonen) are the credited performers in this video. The photos displayed during the video are many of the same images that come up if you Google “Säkkijärvi images”, and they give a good idea of the flavor of the land. Watch the images, then listen again as you follow along below.  

On kauniina muistona Karjalan maa,
The land of Carelia is but a beautiful memory,
mutta vieläkin syömmestä soinnahtaa,
but it still touches my heart,
kun soittajan sormista kuulla saa,
when I hear from the musician's fingers
Säkkijärven polkkaa!
the Säkkijärvi polka!
Se polkka taas menneitä mieleen tuo
That polka brings things of the past to my mind
ja se outoa kaipuuta rintaan luo.
and a strange aching to my chest.
Hei, soittaja, haitarin soida suo
Hey, musician, let your accordion play
Säkkijärven polkkaa!
the Säkkijärvi polka!

Nuoren ja vanhan se tanssiin vie,
It takes the young and old to dance,
ei sille polkalle vertaa lie!
there's no comparison to that polka!
Sen kanssa on vaikka mierontie
[You can take] Even the path of the outcast
Säkkijärven polkkaa!
with the Säkkijärvi polka!
Siinä on liplatus laineitten,
It has the sound of the waves,
siinä on huojunta honkien.
It has the swaying of old pine trees.
Karjala soi - kaikki tietää sen –
Carelia is singing – everybody knows that -
Säkkijärven polkkaa!
the Säkkijärvi polka!

Tule, tule tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin, kun polkka niin herkästi helkähtää.
Come, come girl, dance with me now when the polka sounds so gently.
Hoi! Hepo surkoon ja hammasta purkoon, kun sillä on ihmeesti suurempi pää!
Yey! Let the horse grieve and grind its teeth, because he has a larger head!

Tule, tule, tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin kun meillä on riemu ja suvinen sää!
Come, come girl, dance with me now when we are merry and it is summer! ["suvinen sää" - "suvinen" is an adjective derived from the word "suvi" which is an old name for "summer" and "sää" means "weather" – summery weather??]
Säkkijärvi se meiltä on pois, mutta jäi toki sentään polkka!
We have lost Säkkijärvi but we do have the polka!

Kun rakkaimmat rannat on jääneet taa,
When the dearest shores are far behind,
niin vieraissa kulkija lohdun saa, kun
the traveller walking in strange lands gets comfort when
kuuntelee soittoa kaihoisaa:
listens to the wistful playing of
Säkkijärven polkkaa!
the Säkkijärvi polka!

Se polkka on vain, mutta sellainen,
It is only polka, but of a kind,
että tielle se johtavi muistojen.
that leads to the path of memories.
On sointuna Karjalan kaunoisen:
It is the sound of the beautiful Carelia:
Säkkijärven polkka!
the Säkkijärvi polka!

Now those lyrics to the polka, which you’ve no doubt memorized by now, were not always the ones attached to it. Here’s an odd little film clip, dating back as well to 1953, featuring the Kimarakvartetti.

 OK I was talking about the words sung during the last few seconds of that. As for the rest of those vocal sounds, I just don’t know how they did it! A special talent, I guess.

Someone named Lennie Norman, guitar in lap, sings a different set of words (meaning unknown to me) but evoking Vili Vesterinen.

Here’s the “Swingle” version which, according to the description “is arranged by Archie Always and performed by Mumbo Jumbo and Dance Theatre Minimi”.  HEY!

Essentially the same arrangement here, I think, this time in concert with the Close Harmony Friends. (This same group has another version as well, with some outdoor antics.) HEY HEY! 

Christmas just may be coming: Kitten Anderssons! (with an extra from “Scrubs”)

THE KIDS ARE ALL DOING IT

To me, one of the most endearing aspects of this exploration of the Säkkijärven polkka is its appeal to children. The tune, after all, is not much different than any number of childrens’ ditties. But it is a clear favorite for Finnish kids to take up while learning to play accordion. And it warms my heart that learning and playing accordion is a cool thing for these kids to do.

These young people seem to have a great time in Savonlinna.

This young man hasn’t mastered it completely, but that doesn’t stop him from including a bellows shake:

On the other hand, this guy (what is his name?) has pretty much nailed it. He has at least 3 different videos posted of his solo performance.

And here, he leads a group of young friends.

A few weeks ago, The New York Times published an article in the Sunday Arts & Leisure section about charisma. It made the point that, by and large, charisma is something that either is there or is not. When it’s there, it usually manifests itself early on. Mikko Makkonen is a prime example of manifest charisma. Just 10 years old when he made this video (and there are a few other examples of his playing from the same time), he has clearly got it. Now all of 12, he’s a student at the Junior Academy of the Sibelius Academy and has his own fan group page on Facebook. Just this past September, he won second place at the International accordion competition Castelfidardo in Italy in the category for entrants up to 12 years of age playing classical music. 

Shall we go even younger? No loss of concentration for 8-year-old Arttu Rajala performing for a live audience which is clearly into it.

WHERE ARE THE DANCERS?

After viewing these and quite a few other videos, I began to wonder… this is a polka, isn’t it? Why don’t any of these videos have anyone dancing? (I didn't count the ones with choreography as part of the staging of those "Swingle" performances.) The only one I’d found was at an outdoor performance by Frederik, in which a few spectators in the crowd took the opportunity to shake a leg. Then I found this, filmed at the Europäische Jugendwoche. Shaken loose from latter-day accordionic finger twiddles, here is the Säkkijärven polkka reduced to basic folkish form, with appropriate Terpsichore to boot. 

If we’re sticking with basics, it doesn’t get more basic than this. No bellows here – just the lungs and lips of Aimo Kinnunen enlivening the reeds.

SÄKKIJÄRVEN POLKKA FOREVER

Okay, now that we’ve broken it down, let’s bring this journey home and up to the present. Castelfidardo was not the only international accordion competition in Europe this summer. Every year since 2005, the Primus Ikaalinen Accordion Competition is held at the Sata-Häme Soi festival. This competition is “run along the lines of the Eurovision Song Competition where selected accordion finalists perform popular entertainment style pieces accompanied by a professional backing band, to a live studio and television audience”. As has been the case for the past several years, the final was broadcast on Finland’s National TV (YLE). In the 2009 competition, Finnish accordionist Katariina Ahjoniemi performed a pretty nifty jazzed up…  you guessed it: Säkkijärven polkka.

EXTRA FEATURES

A few notes and asides (naturally). First of all, I promised you an update on La Mariposita, the Frosini composition played by Vili Vesterinen in that old film clip. At this past summer’s Primus Ikaalinen (which, by the way, was won by American accordionist Cory Pesaturo), Finnish accordionist Marko Kotilainen played La Mariposita with a few new harmonies and instrumental textures backing him up, but essentially the classic piece as it has existed for decades. A word about Kotilainen: he’s a 33-year-old family man with two daughters and a regular job teaching high school chemistry and math; his father had been an accordion hobbyist, and Marko does his father proud in perpetuating the hobby.

A regular feature of the Primus Ikaalinen competition final is the Finnish medley, a pastiche of popular Finnish tunes performed in sequence by the finalists of the competition, clearly an audience favorite. And so, in a mood of festivity that I think you well deserve, if you’ve stuck with me this far, I send you out into the cool Finnish night warmed to the core by this joyous effusion.

There are several tunes that come up repeatedly in the medleys year after year. One of these is called Olen Suomalainen (“I am Finnish” or “I am a Finn”). This song was originally written and recorded by Salvatore “Toto” Cutugno as L’Italiano (Lasciatemi Cantare) and became a worldwide hit. No wonder – it’s another song that just sticks in your ear. It was recorded in the Finnish cover version by a popular Finnish singer named Kari Tapio, and he had great success with it. Here’s Tapio in a live performance:

On 7 December 2010, Kari Tapio had a heart attack and died, age 65, sending a shock wave throughout Finland.

In the 2009 Finnish medley, Olen Suomalainen is admirably performed by Katariina Ahjoniemi whom we heard playing the jazzy Säkkijärven polkka in the same final. In 2008, however, Italian accordionist Mario D'Amario gets more naturally inside the piece rhythmically, and it’s just plain sexy (not to mention that smile!). Most moving of all to me, though, is the 2011 version from just this past July. Olen Suomalainen is played by Marko Kotilainen with the audience, as usual, singing along fervently. I feel certain that, even amidst the general festiveness, the recent passing of Kari Tapio must have been in the back of everyone’s mind at that moment.

I hope this ride has been enjoyable. I hope, as well, that one will be inspired to investigate such other charming and, each in its own way, compelling Finnish popular favorites as Sirkkojen tanssit, Karlajan Polka, Metsäkukkia, Takaisin Paluu, Kulkurin Kaiho, and many more. And once you’ve had a rest, there are many many more versions of Säkkijärven polkka to be found that I did not include here (hard to believe, I know, but true!).

I hope that I have made the case that music reaches into the hearts of the Finnish populace, not only creating an element of compatriotic bonding but also evidenced thereby. Music, it is frequently stated, is a universal language. Personally, though I can barely make head or tail of the Finnish language, the music of the Finnish people speaks to the soul.

OK, it’s time for the Finnish Medley – enjoy yourselves: