Tag Archives: Finland

Ilmari Krohn and Finnish ethnomusicology

Ilmari Krohn was the founder of the Finnish school of ethnomusicology, and he was one of the first to develop lexicographical methods for the classification and study of traditional music.

Krohn derived support and inspiration from the Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, which pioneered the collection of Finnish folklore and the publication of Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. He was also influenced by the historic-geographic method in folklore, originated by his father Julius and his older brother Kaarle.

The main focus of Krohn’s approach was on the collection, classification, and publication of traditional songs, not ethnography or the musicians themselves. The principles Krohn laid were later adopted by Bartók and Kodály, and then spread to a number of European countries.

This according to “History, geography, and diffusion: Ilmari Krohn’s early influence on the study of European folk music” by Erkki Pekkilä (Ethnomusicology L/2 [spring–summer 2006] pp. 353–59).

Today is Krohn’s 150th birthday! Below, a 1977 recording of his Rukous (Prayer).

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Filed under Ethnomusicology, Europe

Finnish nationalism and neotraditional music

 

Music has played a critical role in the shifting spaces between the Finnish national imagination and the global marketplace.

The ways in which neotraditional musicians think and talk about past and present practices, the role of music in the representation of national identity, and the interactions of Finnish musicians with performers from around the globe illuminate the multilayered processes that have shaped and are shaped by new traditional music in Finland, illuminating the connections between music, place, and identity.

This according to Ilmatar’s inspirations: Nationalism, globalization, and the changing soundscapes of Finnish folk music by Tina K. Ramnarine (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003).

Below, JPP—the group serves as one of the book’s case studies.

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Filed under Popular music