Maamme
"Maamme" (Finnish: [ˈmɑːmːe]; Swedish: Vårt land, Finland Swedish: [ˈvoːrt ˈlɑnːd]; both meaning "Our Land") is an unofficial national anthem of Finland. The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with original Swedish words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and with this music it was performed for the first time on 13 May 1848.[1] Originally, it was written for the 500th anniversary of Porvoo, and for that occasion it was Runeberg himself who wrote the music.
English: Our Land | |
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National anthem of Finland | |
Also known as | "Vårt land" (English: "Our Land") |
Lyrics | Johan Ludvig Runeberg, 1848 |
Music | Fredrik Pacius, 1848 |
Audio sample | |
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (one verse)
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The melody of "Maamme" is also used for the national anthem of Estonia with a similarly themed text, "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" ("My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy", 1869).[2] It is also considered to be the ethnic anthem for the Livonians as "Min izāmō" ("My Fatherland").
History
The original poem, written in 1846 but not printed until 1848, had 11 stanzas and formed the prologue to the verse cycle The Tales of Ensign Stål ("Fänrik Ståhls sägner"), a classic example of Romantic nationalism. The current Finnish language text is usually attributed to the 1889 translation of Ensign Stål by Paavo Cajander, but in fact originates from the 1867 translation by Julius Krohn.[3][4]
There is no law regarding an official national anthem in Finland, in the way the coat of arms and flag of Finland are legally defined. Instead its position has been established gradually by convention over the years.[2]
Children learn it in school; in formal occasions it is sung both in Finnish and in Swedish. It is played at sporting events, such as the Olympics. In the 1880s and in the 1920s there were more attempts to replace it with a Finnish language version but these ceased by the 1930s.[5] Some Finns have proposed that the Finnish national anthem be set as "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius,[6] with lyrics by V.A. Koskenniemi (Finnish) and Joel Rundt (Swedish).
It is said that Pacius composed the tune in four days. It was popular throughout the 19th century, but established as national anthem only after Pacius' death.[7]
Lyrics
The original lyrics consist of eleven verses, but it is customary to only sing the first verse and the last verse, unless the people gathered are mixed Finnish- and Swedish-speaking. In the latter case, three verses are sung: the first in Finnish, the first in Swedish and the last in Finnish.
Swedish original[8] | Finnish translation[9] | English translation from Swedish[10] |
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I |
I |
I |
International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions
Swedish IPA transcription[lower-alpha 1] | Finnish IPA transcription[lower-alpha 2] |
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1 |
1 |
See also
- Holidays in Finland
- Finnish national symbols
- "Ålänningens sång" – the regional anthem of Åland
- "Modersmålets sång" - unofficial anthem of the Swedish-speaking Finns
Notes
- See Help:IPA/Swedish and Swedish phonology.
- See Help:IPA/Finnish and Finnish phonology.
References
- "The Finnish national anthem". This Is Finland. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
- Lassander, Uolevi (1998). "Vårt land - Maamme - Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm". Tuglas Society (in Finnish). Retrieved 2016-05-08.
- Käännökset (Translations) - Runeberg Museum site (in Finnish)
- J. L. Runeberg Archived 2007-03-15 at the Wayback Machine - Finnish Literature Society site (in Finnish)
- Richly Gábor (2010). "A finn nemzeti himnusz". Kortárs. 54 (2).
- Gronow, Pekka. ""Maamme" (Our country), brief history of the Finnish national anthem". Europeana. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
- Holmqvist, Christian. "The Story of Vårt Land". Pacius 200 years. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
- "Vårt land, Finlands nationalsång av Johan Ludvig Runeberg".
- Runeberg, Johan Ludvig (1919) [1889]. Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat (in Finnish). Translated by Cajander, Paavo.
- (Trans. from Swedish by Anna Krook, 1904.)
"Finland - National Anthem". csridentity.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2014.