Fredrik Pacius
Encyclopedia
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".
Pacius was appointed music teacher at the 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...
in 1834. In Helsinki he founded a musical society, the student choir Akademiska Sångföreningen
Akademiska Sångföreningen
Akademiska Sångföreningen or in English The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki is a Finland-Swedish male voice student choir based in Helsinki, Finland...
and an orchestra. In 1848 Pacius wrote the music to the poem "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....
" 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....
, which was to become Finland's national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
. Pacius’s music was also used for the Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n national anthem "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" and the Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
n national anthem Min izāmō, min sindimō.
In 1852 he composed Kung Karls jakt
Kung Karls jakt
Kung Karls jakt is an opera with music by Fredrik Pacius and a libretto by Zacharias Topelius. It was the first opera to be composed in Finland. Kung Karls jakt was first performed in Helsinki on 24 March, 1852...
(The Hunt of King Charles) which was the first Finnish opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, with a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
in the style of Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
, like the national anthem designed to convince Finland's grand duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
(i.e. the Russian Emperor Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
) of the total loyalty of his subjects in Finland. The libretto was written by the author and historian Zacharias Topelius
Zacharias Topelius
Zachris Topelius was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history in Swedish.-Life and career:...
in close collaboration with the composer.
His compositions also include a violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
, a symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, a string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
and several other operas.
Works
- Orchestral
- Symphony in D minor (1850)
- Overture in E-flat major (1826)
- Violin Concerto in F-sharp minor (1845)
- Vocal music
- König Karls Jagd, opera (1852)
- Prinsessan av CypernPrinsessan av Cypern (Pacius)Prinsessan av Cypern is a four-act fairy opera by Fredrik Pacius, with a Swedish libretto by Zacharias Topelius...
, SingspielSingspielA Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
(1860) - Die Loreley, opera (1862–87)
- Cantatas
- Choruses
- Lieder
- Chamber musicChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
- String Quartet in E-flat major (1826)
Literature
- Tomi Mäkelä, Fredrik Pacius, kompositör i Finland, Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, Helsinki 2009; ISBN 978-951-583-192-7
- Tomi Mäkelä, Der Pionier. Fredrik Pacius, OpernweltOpernweltOpernwelt is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet.The magazine covers news about current performances; it presents portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses and performance spaces, and about contemporary and historical subjects from the world of opera...
, 11, 2009, 36–44.