Marianne Maans

Swedish native speakers constitute Finland’s culturally most significant minority. Much of Finland’s music has Finland-Swedish roots, the best-known case in point being Jean Sibelius. The strength of these roots can be heard in Finland-Swedish folk music, with its minuets, ballads and regional specialties – a tradition very different from that of Finnish-speaking Finns.

Several eras and genres are represented in the domain of Finnish traditional folk singing: ancient runo singing, roundelays or Reigenlied, and medieval ballads. Inspiration from and combinations of multiple styles have resulted in a wealth of new repertoire that reflects and comments on our own times.

The world music market has seen a boom in Celtic, African and Latin American music. Many people believe that it is the turn of the Nordic countries next.