Representing a nation with sound has been an important part of history. Most nations of the world have a national anthem they use that shows praise, devotion and patriotism for their country. The national anthem, like other national symbols of a country, represents the history, struggles, traditions and beliefs of a nation and its people. It serves as an expression of national identity and is seen by many to be a unifying factor for its people. During a performance of a national anthem, a lot of citizens of a nation rise up in unison to respect and listen to/sing their country’s song. Now that you have an introduction to the purpose of a national anthem and the impact it has, I want to compare it to Sibelius’ Finlandia and the way it influenced the country of Finland and its people.
In a way, Finlandia became the country’s national anthem for those seeking independence for Finland. Sibelius is arguably the most important composer associated with nationalism. He had written Finlandia as part of his Press Celebration Music suite for an event-a political rally of sorts to protest Russia’s increasing censorship and other cruel measures against Finland. To avoid censorship, this piece was actually not performed under the title Finlandia. With the increasing censorship, a wave of protest was sparked, and an outpouring of music was sparked in Sibelius. With this composition, Sibelius basically secured his reputation as Finland’s national musical voice. The piece starts with a sense of struggle, said to be representative of the ominous Russian Empire, but ends with its famous hymn like melody that made this peace iconic for Finish nationalism. The melody from Finlandia is instantly memorable and timeless. The hymns words have become an unofficial national anthem of Finland.
I found a cool YouTube video that shows the history of Finland and Finlandia while playing the piece. It has nice pictures of the country and it also includes the words of the hymn in the piece. You can find it here. There is also a live recording linked here done by the BBC Chorus and Symphony. It’s a pretty cool piece. And while I’m at it, I’ll link you to a flashmob of Finlandia. It’s amazing how such a beautiful melody can express such powerful nationalism.
A national anthem is mostly used during a national important day and military honors, but it has also become a thing to play the national anthem for sporting events. William Robin’s article “Colin Kaepernick and the Radical Uses of the Star Spangled Banner” is a great example of how a country can be represented through sound. Regardless of what you believe about America’s National Anthem and it’s writer, this is proof that music can be a huge part of representing a nation and the meaning behind it can be very deep and transcendent to people, and it can also represent different meanings for everyone. Regardless of what you believe, it’s amazing how music can be used to represent a nation.
I liked the quote in the article that says “understanding the song as it has been sung moves us beyond the politics of one man and toward comprehending how the anthem has functioned as a powerful articulation of citizenship.” As you can see, a piece such as Finlandia, or a country’s national anthem can represent a lot more than just a song. It shows the pride of a nation through sound and can unify people and share a country’s rich history and beauty. Sibelius’s piece is noted for sparking an outpour of Finish national pride and rallied the Finnish people together which ultimately lead to their freedom.