Akademiska Sångföreningen
Encyclopedia
Akademiska Sångföreningen (akaˈdeːmiska ˈsoŋfœreːniŋen) or in English
The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki (colloquially known as Akademen and abbreviated AS) is a Finland-Swedish male voice student choir
based in Helsinki
, Finland
. The choir was founded in 1838 (at the latest) by Fredrik Pacius
, music teacher at the Imperial Alexander University of Finland (now University of Helsinki
) and known as "the father of Finnish music", and is thus the oldest Finnish choir still in existence.
During the 19th century Akademiska Sångföreningen became an important symbol of national awakening in the emerging Finnish nation, at the time part of the Russian empire
as the Grand Duchy of Finland
. On 13 May 1848, Pacius' composition Vårt land
(Our Land), set to the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg
, was performed for the first time by Akademiska Sångföreningen during the students' celebration of the Flora Day. The composition was later to become the national anthem of the independent Finnish nation.
In the 1850s and 60s, elite triple quartets (so-called sångartolfvor, literally singer twelves) from within the choir's ranks participated in raising the funds necessary to build what is nowadays called the Old Student House in Helsinki (Gamla studenthuset in Swedish, Vanha ylioppilastalo in Finnish), by travelling the country performing. The Old Student House was finished in 1870, and it is still the place where the choir has its office and where practice takes place once a week.
During the second half of the 20th century, the choir, led by conductor and composer Erik Bergman
, came to carve out new paths for the male voice tradition in Finland, in proving that said form of music is able to exhibit superior musical qualities. After Bergman, composer Henrik Otto Donner carried on this tradition, even though circumstances were less than optimal.
In end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 80s the choir was engaged in lighter types of music, though without lowering the quality. The À la Carte concerts in Finlandia Hall
were successful and, when necessary, members of the choir would compose pieces of music themselves.
During the 20th century the choir has had several prominent conductors – Bengt Carlson, Nils-Eric Fougstedt
, Erik Bergman, Henrik Otto Donner, Markus Westerlund, Eric-Olof Söderström, Tom Eklundh, John Schultz and Henrik Wikström have all conducted the choir. Present conductor M.Mus.
Kari Turunen has led the choir since the autumn term of 2008.
Being the oldest male voice choir in Finland, Akademiska Sångföreningen has always cared particularly for the classical Finnish male voice repertoire. Among the composers whose compositions form part of the choir's standard repertoire are honorary members Jean Sibelius
, Selim Palmgren
and Erik Bergman, as well as fellow composers Toivo Kuula
and Leevi Madetoja
. Furthermore, being a Finland-Swedish organization, the choir has always seen it as a natural and important task to champion the Swedish-speaking minority culture in Finland. Hence, the standard repertoire encompasses not only choral works of Finnish and Finland-Swedish origin, but also many works of Swedish origin, for example by honorary member Hugo Alfvén
.
As implied by its name, the choir is a student choir, and like its Helsinki sister choir Akademiska Damkören Lyran (The Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran) an independent so-called musikkorporation (music corporate body), formally tied to the University of Helsinki and subject to its rector
. The choir presently has about 50 active members, many of which are university students. Concerts are given regularly in Finland, and the choir travels abroad frequently. On top of many European countries, the choir has been on tour in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
Particularly in recent years, the choir has devoted itself to actively producing records, explicitly in order to document high quality male voice choir repertoire in Swedish. Apart from Swedish, the choir also sings in the parody language Transpiranto
on the record Happi kvam pippi, which was released in 2006. The latest record, Hymn to Finland, is produced by Swedish label BIS Records
and documents works for male voice choir by founder Fredrik Pacius. The record was released on 19 March 2009, the 200th anniversary of Pacius' birth.
The choir maintains contacts with other similar choirs, in Finland in particular with male voice student choirs Brahe Djäknar
in Turku
and Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat
(YL Male Voice Choir) in Helsinki, and in Sweden especially with Orphei Drängar
in Uppsala
, Stockholms Studentsångare in Stockholm
, Linköpings Studentsångarförening Lihkören
in Linköping
and Lunds Studentsångförening
in Lund
.
Ever since 1954, the choir has collaborated actively with its sister choir Akademiska Damkören Lyran. The two choirs give several traditional annual concerts together.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki (colloquially known as Akademen and abbreviated AS) is a Finland-Swedish male voice student choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
based in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The choir was founded in 1838 (at the latest) by Fredrik Pacius
Fredrik Pacius
Fredrik Pacius was a German composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music"....
, music teacher at the Imperial Alexander University of Finland (now University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
) and known as "the father of Finnish music", and is thus the oldest Finnish choir still in existence.
History
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
. On 13 May 1848, Pacius' composition Vårt land
Maamme
Maamme or Vårt land is the title of Finland's national anthem. There is no law on an official national anthem in Finland, but Maamme is firmly established by convention....
(Our Land), set to the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a Finnish poet, and is the national poet of Finland. He wrote in the Swedish language....
, was performed for the first time by Akademiska Sångföreningen during the students' celebration of the Flora Day. The composition was later to become the national anthem of the independent Finnish nation.
In the 1850s and 60s, elite triple quartets (so-called sångartolfvor, literally singer twelves) from within the choir's ranks participated in raising the funds necessary to build what is nowadays called the Old Student House in Helsinki (Gamla studenthuset in Swedish, Vanha ylioppilastalo in Finnish), by travelling the country performing. The Old Student House was finished in 1870, and it is still the place where the choir has its office and where practice takes place once a week.
During the second half of the 20th century, the choir, led by conductor and composer Erik Bergman
Erik Bergman
Erik Valdemar Bergman was an influential composer of classical music from Finland.Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works to modernism and primitivism, among other genres...
, came to carve out new paths for the male voice tradition in Finland, in proving that said form of music is able to exhibit superior musical qualities. After Bergman, composer Henrik Otto Donner carried on this tradition, even though circumstances were less than optimal.
In end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 80s the choir was engaged in lighter types of music, though without lowering the quality. The À la Carte concerts in Finlandia Hall
Finlandia Hall
Finlandia Hall is a concert hall with a congress wing in Helsinki, Finland, by Töölönlahti bay. The building was designed by Alvar Aalto. The work began in 1967 and was completed in 1971.-Design and building:...
were successful and, when necessary, members of the choir would compose pieces of music themselves.
During the 20th century the choir has had several prominent conductors – Bengt Carlson, Nils-Eric Fougstedt
Nils-Eric Fougstedt
Nils-Eric Fougstedt was a Finnish conductor and composer. He attended the Helsinki Conservatory and counted Erik Furuhjelm among his teachers....
, Erik Bergman, Henrik Otto Donner, Markus Westerlund, Eric-Olof Söderström, Tom Eklundh, John Schultz and Henrik Wikström have all conducted the choir. Present conductor M.Mus.
Master of Music
The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...
Kari Turunen has led the choir since the autumn term of 2008.
Activity
| Previous conductors | ||
|---|---|---|
| From | To | Name |
| 1838 | 1846 | Fredrik Pacius Fredrik Pacius Fredrik Pacius was a German composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".... |
| 1846 | 1850 | August Lindelöf |
| 1850 | 1857 | Temporary conductors |
| 1857 | 1860 | Gustaf Magnus Cederhvarf |
| 1860 | 1864 | Henrik Gustaf Borenius |
| 1864 | 1865 | Johannes Edvard Pacius |
| 1865 | 1866 | Uno Kurtén |
| 1866 | 1868 | Lorentz Nikolai Achté |
| 1868 | 1869 | Nils Peter Paldani |
| 1870 | 1871 | Martin Wegelius Martin Wegelius Martin Wegelius was a Finnish composer and musicologist, primarily remembered as the founder, in 1882, of the Helsinki Music Institute, now known as the Sibelius Academy.Wegelius studied in Leipzig, Vienna and Munich... |
| 1871 | 1872 | Lorentz Nikolai Achté |
| 1872 | 1873 | David Hahl |
| 1873 | 1876 | Martin Wegelius Martin Wegelius Martin Wegelius was a Finnish composer and musicologist, primarily remembered as the founder, in 1882, of the Helsinki Music Institute, now known as the Sibelius Academy.Wegelius studied in Leipzig, Vienna and Munich... |
| 1876 | 1879 | Gösta Sohlström |
| 1879 | Oscar Mechelin | |
| 1880 | Nils Kiljander | |
| 1880 | Werner Holmberg | |
| 1881 | Edvard Rindell | |
| 1882 | Oscar W. Moberg | |
| 1882 | 1884 | Interregnum |
| 1884 | Arthur Relander | |
| 1885 | 1892 | Carl von Knorring |
| 1893 | 1894 | Emil Leander |
| 1894 | Carl von Knorring | |
| 1895 | Uno Öller | |
| 1896 | 1899 | Gösta Sohlström |
| 1899 | 1902 | Carl von Knorring |
| 1902 | 1903 | Lennart Hallman |
| 1903 | 1904 | Kurt Ångelin |
| 1904 | 1905 | Lennart Hallman |
| 1905 | Vacant | |
| 1906 | Gustaf Mattsson | |
| 1906 | Vacant | |
| 1907 | 1908 | Alarik Uggla |
| 1908 | 1909 | Thure Sandelin |
| 1909 | 1911 | Gösta Enckell |
| 1911 | 1912 | Emil Leander |
| 1912 | 1915 | Ragnar Hollmérus |
| 1915 | 1920 | Olof Wallin |
| 1920 | 1946 | Bengt Carlson |
| 1946 | 1950 | Nils-Eric Fougstedt Nils-Eric Fougstedt Nils-Eric Fougstedt was a Finnish conductor and composer. He attended the Helsinki Conservatory and counted Erik Furuhjelm among his teachers.... |
| 1950 | 1969 | Erik Bergman Erik Bergman Erik Valdemar Bergman was an influential composer of classical music from Finland.Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works to modernism and primitivism, among other genres... |
| 1969 | 1976 | Henrik Otto Donner |
| 1976 | 1983 | Markus Westerlund |
| 1983 | 1985 | Eric-Olof Söderström |
| 1985 | 1990 | Tom Eklundh |
| 1990 | 1997 | John Schultz and |
| Henrik Wikström | ||
| 1997 | 2008 | Henrik Wikström |
| 2008 | – | Kari Turunen |
Being the oldest male voice choir in Finland, Akademiska Sångföreningen has always cared particularly for the classical Finnish male voice repertoire. Among the composers whose compositions form part of the choir's standard repertoire are honorary members Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, Selim Palmgren
Selim Palmgren
Selim Gustaf Adolf Palmgren , dubbed "The Finnish Chopin", was a Finnish composer, pianist, and conductor. Palmgren was born in Pori, Finland, February 16, 1878. He studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin with Ansorge, Berger and Busoni...
and Erik Bergman, as well as fellow composers Toivo Kuula
Toivo Kuula
Toivo Timoteus Kuula was a Finnish conductor and composer. He was born in the city of Vaasa , when Finland still was a Grand Duchy under Russian rule. He is known as a colorful and passionate portrayer of Finnish nature and people...
and Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja was a Finnish composer.-Life and career:Born in Oulu, he was the son of Antti Madetoja and Anna Hyttinen...
. Furthermore, being a Finland-Swedish organization, the choir has always seen it as a natural and important task to champion the Swedish-speaking minority culture in Finland. Hence, the standard repertoire encompasses not only choral works of Finnish and Finland-Swedish origin, but also many works of Swedish origin, for example by honorary member Hugo Alfvén
Hugo Alfvén
was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter.- Violinist :Alfvén was born in Stockholm and studied at the Music Conservatory there from 1887 to 1891 with the violin as his main instrument, receiving lessons from Lars Zetterquist. He also took private composition lessons from Johan...
.
As implied by its name, the choir is a student choir, and like its Helsinki sister choir Akademiska Damkören Lyran (The Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran) an independent so-called musikkorporation (music corporate body), formally tied to the University of Helsinki and subject to its rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
. The choir presently has about 50 active members, many of which are university students. Concerts are given regularly in Finland, and the choir travels abroad frequently. On top of many European countries, the choir has been on tour in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
Particularly in recent years, the choir has devoted itself to actively producing records, explicitly in order to document high quality male voice choir repertoire in Swedish. Apart from Swedish, the choir also sings in the parody language Transpiranto
Transpiranto
In recent years, several poems originally written in Esperanto have been rendered into Transpiranto by Martin Weichert, and have been published in the Swedish Esperanto journal La Espero, and via the internet....
on the record Happi kvam pippi, which was released in 2006. The latest record, Hymn to Finland, is produced by Swedish label BIS Records
BIS Records
BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
and documents works for male voice choir by founder Fredrik Pacius. The record was released on 19 March 2009, the 200th anniversary of Pacius' birth.
The choir maintains contacts with other similar choirs, in Finland in particular with male voice student choirs Brahe Djäknar
Brahe Djäknar
Studentkören Brahe Djäknar is a Fenno-Swedish male voice student choir based in Turku, Finland. It was founded in 1937 and was led by John Rosas until 1955, when Gottfrid Gräsbeck took over. Gräsbeck led the choir for 35 years, and retired from his job as university teacher in musicology as well as...
in Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
and Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat
YL Male Voice Choir
YL Male Voice Choir was founded by P.J. Hannikainen in 1883 to become the choir of the Helsinki University. It is also the oldest Finnish-language choir. Nowadays the choir is not completely tied to the university, but all applicants are expected to have passed the matriculation exam or study at...
(YL Male Voice Choir) in Helsinki, and in Sweden especially with Orphei Drängar
Orphei Drängar
Orphei Drängar is a Swedish male choir and singing society founded in 1853, based in Uppsala and one of the two notable singing societies traditionally affiliated with the university there...
in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, Stockholms Studentsångare in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Linköpings Studentsångarförening Lihkören
Linköping University Male Voice Choir
Linköping University Male Voice Choir is a Swedish male chorus founded in 1972, based in Linköping...
in Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
and Lunds Studentsångförening
Lunds Studentsångförening
Lunds Studentsångförening ' is a Swedish amateur choir, which counts its history from 1831. Today one of Sweden's top male choirs, the choir has assumed many different shapes during its history...
in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
.
Ever since 1954, the choir has collaborated actively with its sister choir Akademiska Damkören Lyran. The two choirs give several traditional annual concerts together.
Discography
The following records have been released since 1988 (Julstämning together with Akademiska Damkören Lyran):- Hymn to Finland (2009)
- Happi kvam pippi (2006)
- För ögonblicket (At the Moment) (2005)
- Skaparegestalter (Creator Figures) (2002)
- Julstämning (Christmas Spirit) (1999)
- Första maj (May Day) (1995)