[Tango-L] Finnish Tango

[steve pastor]

Finnish Tango is certainly a tangent to Argentine Tango, but I guess I'm not the only
   one interested in this topic. So here goes.
   
  A couple of tango friends have gone to Tangomarkkinat the past couple of years. I
   believe they are just one of the sources from which I have heard that the Germans 
  were largely responsible for the character of Finnish Tango. This is of course contrary 
  to recent posts, some of which cite Finns as sources.
   
  The Tangomarkkinat web page states that "The first Finnish tangos, classics since 
  their birth, date back to the 1930s. Both the form and the spirit of tango in the Finnish 
  manner were crystallized during the Second World War."
   
  Here is a quote from http://worldwar2database.com/html/finland.htm "Britain declared
   war on Finland on December 6, 1941. The United States, while recognizing that 
  Finland was not an ally, seized Finnish ships.  Throughout the war, German planes 
  attacked Murmansk and Archangel from Finnish airfields. German and Soviet units 
  engaged frequently in Finland.  Finland was clearly on the side of the Axis."
   
  I have no hidden agenda here. I would, however, like to have my facts straight. So, were the Germans important in determining the character of Finnish Tango?
   
   
   
   
   
   
  

John Ward <johnofbristol at tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
  
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
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