[Tango-L] Finnish Tango

[John Ward]

Sergio - do you remember the names of any of the Finnish singers you heard?
Though this is probably a silly question: most of the names are very long
and very strange to the average Indo-European.

I too was impressed by the Finnish language the first time I heard it. It
was so clear and beautifully enunciated that I felt I ought to be able to
understand it even though not a single word made any sense. Though one
particular singer, Arja Koriseva, has such an expressive voice that I *did*
understand it, at least till the final note died away. Then it was gone.
Another sort of "tango moment".

The primary Finnish tango festival, the Tangomarkkinat, will be held in
Seinäjoki on 5 - 9 July. I will be going, even though I have gone on public
record saying I would never go there again, not after the way Ailamari
Vehviläinen was treated. It is possible the festival is having financial
difficulties: some events that took place in previous years, particularly on
the first and last days, are not happening this year; and the "Tango
Illusion" magazine seems to have disappeared.

The letter Derik quoted said that modern Finnish tango is an early version
of Argentine tango. Some years ago I asked this list if the pristine purity
of early Argentine tango was preserved in Finland, and the general opinion
was that it wasn't; in fact the pristine purity had never existed. This
seems to be confirmed by Vernon Castle and Gladys Beattie Crozier (neither
of them Finnish, of course) who both commented on the enormous number of
figures existing in 1913/14. But it's nice to know that I was right after
all.

Finally,as nit-picking seems to be de rigeur on this list, I would say that
according to the Finns I have spoken to, the reed instrument with the
symmetrical array of black and white buttons is a harmonikka, not an
accordion. I have even seen a synthesiser which had harmonikka buttons
instead of piano keys.

John Ward
Bristol, UK