Finnish Lyric Diction

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.) IN RECENT DECADES, Finnish music (in particular symphonies) has found its way into the cognizance of international audiences, due largely to a number of talented, young conductors who have taken it upon themselves to introduce it into their music programs. But Finnish music is not just the symphonies of Jean Sibelius; indeed, there is a plethora of different genres waiting to be introduced to the world. One of these is vocal music, encompassing art songs as well as choral music and opera. Songs have words; therefore, it is a necessity for those singers, voice pedagogues, and choir directors who wish to include Finnish vocal music in their programs to have a practical knowledge of the Finnish language, or at least its basic phonology. That already will enable them to delve into this treasure trove of lesser known musical gems. The features for mastering Finnish lyric diction will be presented in this article, first through an introduction to each necessary aspect of Finnish phonology, and second, through direct application to songs, with constant reference to the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). It is hoped that this will be of help, and will inspire interest in Finnish vocal repertoire. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FINNISH LANGUAGE Finnish is a non-Indo-European language of noteworthy linguistic and musical interest. As a national language of Finland, it is used today by some six million people, among them many world renowned composers, poets, singers, pianists, violinists, conductors, choir directors, and other musicians who have proven themselves globally to be experts in their fields of music. Other than in Finland itself, Finnish is spoken in several other countries, especially in those of nearest proximity to Finland: Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and the province of Karelia in Russia. Due to mass migrations at certain points in Finnish history, Finnish nationals have also settled in such far away places as the USA, Canada, and Australia, with vibrant communities intent on preserving their Finnish culture still in existence. Linguistically Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric family of languages, with Estonian and Hungarian the nearest relatives, and Turkish, along with many minor groups of the Altaic family, as a distant linguistic relative. When compared with Indo-European languages, the Finnish language differs in a number of ways. Some of the most distinct differences are outlined here. In Finnish there are no articles before nouns, no pronouns distinguishing gender, just one third person singular (han), no prepositions, but several postpositions and suffixes which, when added to words, make them appear very long. There is no future tense. The accent is always on the first syllable; intonation does not rise in interrogative sentences; a strict system of quantity of length is observed with both vowels and consonants; with vowels there is a special system called vowel harmony, and with consonants, consonant gradation. Finnish is commonly known as a phonetic language, particularly singable and quite easy to pronounce, as each letter of the alphabet represents only one sound, which, even if not always pronounced the same way by individuals, will usually be understood. The letters correspond efficiently with most of the IPA symbols. The original Finnish alphabet consists of twenty-one letters: a, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v/w, y, a [ae], and o [o]. Original in this context, means the primary Finnish alphabet, used with authentic Finnish vocabulary. Since the 1940s, as Finland has continued to become more globally connected, the letters b, c, f, q, x, z, and a have become integral components of what is now the basic Finnish alphabet. Their addition facilitates the writing of loan words from other languages, names of foreign businesses, and non-Finnish names of individuals. There are no silent letters in Finnish. …

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