Finlandia is a symphonic poet which is composed by Jean Sibelius. The first version of Finlandia was written in 1899 during the years when Finland was under the Russian régime and got oppressed by them. The next year the first version of Finlandia was revised. The Young Finnish Party was a nationalist political party in that time which arranged a revolutionary celebration against the increasing censorship from the Russian Empire which contained a Finnish nationalist tableau. Finlandia was composed just for this tableau.
Finlandia starts up with intensifying brass instruments which are leading the piece to a turbulent atmosphere containing other symphonic instruments like bowed string instruments, woodwind instruments, timbali and cymbals. Towards the end the music slows down to a part where a hymn-like section is played only with bowed string instruments and woodwind instruments. The mood of this symphonic poet is very dark and maybe a bit fierce at the beginning which describes the feelings of the oppressed Finns. As the composition hits the hymn-like section, the mood gets brighter and very patriotic telling about the time that Finland declared its independence and the Finns finally got out from the Russian oppression. Finlandia is played most often on the independence day of Finland on 6 December and it's also played in other various patriotic events.
Jean Sibelius was born on 8 December 1865 and died on 4 September 1957. He was worldwidely the most known Finnish composer and his music was very important for the national identity of Finland. His most precious musical compositions are the set of seven symphonies, symphonic poets and the Violin Concerto in D minor.
In my opinion Finlandia is one of the most beautiful-sounding pieces of music in the world. Listening to it gives me chills almost all the way through it. Finlandia gives me the feeling of love and affection to my homeland.
Here's a link to the symphonic poet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgwr3wrenkQ
Ville Kataja
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