Our Land is Poor…

…and it will remain poor. You foreigners might not believe this but that sentence is actually from the Finnish national anthem.

In the photo is the bottom half of the memorial of J.L Runeberg who made the lyrics for the national anthem – in Swedish for a song that was “composed” by a German (see my entry). Estonians also use the same melody.

No wonder there are people who think that Finlandia Hymn by national composer Jean Sibelius should be our national anthem. But that has already been used by the short-lived Republic of Biafra that is today part of Nigeria.

Signmark Raps…

…using sign language. The deaf artist, in the middle, feels the music but doesn’t hear it.

CDP Theme Day 2009 / October: Contrast

Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys performing with a Russian air force choir. Photo from the Helsinki International Airshow 2009.

Back in 1993 Leningrad Cowboys and the (Russian) Red Army Choir attracted 70 000 people to Total Balalaika Show concert in one of the most memorable events in Helsinki’s history. Right after the collapse of Soviet Union it felt unbelievable that the Russian army would have any kind of co-operation with their total opposites.

During the cold war Finns had fears that one day we would be forced to see the Red Army at the Senate’s Square but in 1993 Finns rushed there to see them.

You can read more about the band and its relationship with Russian military choirs from my earlier entry.

It’s a city daily photo blog theme day so click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Siiri Nordin in Autumn Colours

I see quite often people coming to this blog after they have searched for Siiri Nordin so here’s another photo of her from the same gig as the original photo.

The concert was part of last year’s car-free day and tomorrow on Tuesday Helsinkians have a chance to leave their cars home and use the good public transportation network that we have here.

Pepe Ahlqvist at Senate’s Square

Blues musician Pepe Ahlqvist has been performing for almost 40 years.

Concert Photography Boycott

Juha Tapio performing at Espa stage earlier this summer. Here things are as they should be: The photo was not approved or selected by him or his organization and my intellectual property rights haven’t been reduced.

Today one of the biggest names in the music world is performing in Helsinki but the Finnish media is boycotting the event due to unreasonable photography related issues. She already got a similar reception in Sweden.

The Finnish Broadcasting Company has said that they will ignore the concert as “the conditions are not acceptable for free press.” It is likely that many publications will still tell about the concert and use old photos so that is not really a boycott.

The gig can be photographed only if you sign a contract that includes conditions that practically give all the intellectual property rights of the photos to the performing artist. According to the local media the artist’s organization can also select the photos that will be published. That’s not the way how free press works.

It is a bit ironic that the contract has similarities with the conditions that the very same media companies want to use to limit the rights of their freelancers. Not to mention “reader’s photos” – photos that are taken and submitted by regular people in hopes of getting ripped-off published.

Czar Alexander II Turned His Back to Motown Music

Motown Band Par Avion performing at Senate’s Square.

The background was partially transparent so everything you see above the windmills is real Senate’s Square including the statue of Czar Alexander II. For about hundred years Finland was part of Russia and Alexander II’s time was considered so positive for Finland that his statue hasn’t been removed from the number one spot of the country.

Bagpipes

Helsinki Pipes and Drums performed on Espan lava at Esplanadi park.

It’s not usual to hear bagpipes in Finland so I followed the sound when I heard it a few days ago. I wonder if there is something going on in the city as there were two  guys playing bagpipes in another park just a few days earlier.

Maailma Kylässä – The World Village

Grupo Kaney performed at maailma kylässä festival today.

Since 1995 maailma kylässä (World Village) festival has given Helsinkians a chance to experience foreign cultures. There is music, dance, food, interviews and presentations from all over the world. Many organisations from Pacific Islands Friendship Society to Social Democratic Youth have their stands in the pretty large festival area in Kaisaniemi park and Rautatientori square.

Grupo Kaney consists of musicians from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Finland. The band became second in this year’s Ourvision song contest for immigrants, people of immigrant origins, and foreigners living in Finland. Ourvision was organized for the first time in 2007 as an event relating to the Eurovision song contest that was held in Helsinki.

EDIT 23-May-09: Here’s a photo of the trombone player.

Beijing Opera with Finnish Characteristics

Antti Silvennoinen performed at the Chinese New Year Festival in Helsinki.

He has spent a few months in China studying Beijing opera and he is going back to learn more.

There were more people than I expected watching the different performances. The performers were both Chinese and Finns who are interested in Chinese culture.