SINGING HERITAGE ROUTE
Finland Singing Heritage
Finally the festivals are open again. All around country you are able to hear runosongs, folk music, heavy metall and tens of other genres. Now it is your time to choose what to do.
Runosong is a traditional Finnish and Karelian way of singing. People used to sing runosongs all over the country but during the years it disappeared from the west, but stayed alive on eastern side of the country. New generations have discovered the runosongs and use it in their own works.
Sommelo Ethno Music Festival
From Monday 27th June 2022 to Saturday 2nd July 2022
In Sommelo, among other programs, you are also able to study runosongs in courses and hear both as traditional performances and as contemporary songs.
Kihaus Folk -week in Rääkkylä 27.6.– 3.7.2022
Kihaus Folk –music week festival is an atmospheric event suitable for the whole family. The festival is being held during the loveliest summertime in the village of Rääkkylä, surrounded by an idyllic Finnish countryside. Kihaus Folk week offers artists from various fields, including traditional and contemporary folk.
Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship 2022
will be held as LIVE event on 8th of July in Joensuu, Finland available also online
There are over 50 heavy metal bands per 100 000 Finnish citizens and hundreds of thousands of knitting hobbyists (we’re missing precise figures of the amount, please tell us if you know more!), so we thought that there must be Finnish individuals who love both knitting and heavy metal.
But could it be that there are metalhead knitters outside of Finland too?
Runosong
The Runosong tradition is considered to be at least 2000 years old. Runosong tradition is known in Finland, Ingria, Karelia and Estonia. Estonian Setos sings leelo, which is one variation of runosong.
The best-known work based on runosongs is the Finnish national epic Kalevala. Elias Lönnrot collected runosongs in Karelia area, From those songs he compile the story of the Kalevala. Even today, the Kalevala is a source of inspiration for many artists, from dancers to heavy metall musicians.
Lamenting
Lamenting has its roots in Finnic tradition, in particular the Karelia and Ingria region. Laments were usually performed at rites-of-passage events, funerals or graves, weddings and other life-shaping events, and with laments, lamenters express personal and communal grief. In addition, laments were performed in settings such as get-togethers to express joy and gratitude.
Read more about project Laments in contemporary Finland
In the video Emmi Kuittinen sings lament in Finnish about Covid pandemic time.
Festivals and Events
Music festivals in Finland
Runosong
27th June – 2nd July 2022
Folk Music
Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship 2022
Heavy Metal Knitting
World Championship 2022
8th of July Joensuu, Finland
“Is it possible for a knitter to knit eyes closed, hands behind neck like Yngwie Malmsteen does play his guitar?”
“Well of course it is!”, was the reply. And there it was. The idea of a knitter as a lead performer in a band playing heavy metal music. Let’s make it a competition!
