Akademiska Sångföreningen

The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki Akademiska Sångföreningen
Choir
Emblem
Origin	Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland,  Russian Empire (now Helsinki, Finland)
Founded	1838 (1838)
Founder	Fredrik Pacius
Genre	Choral (male voice)
Members	Ca 50 active
Chief conductor	Kari Turunen
Choir admission	Semiannual auditions
Headquarters	Helsinki,  Finland
Affiliation	University of Helsinki
Associated groups	The Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran The YL Male Voice Choir The Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra
Website	akademen.com

The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki, in Swedish: Akademiska Sångföreningen, lit. 'The Academic Singing Association' (pronounced [akaˈdeːmɪska ˈsɔŋfœreːnɪŋɛn]), abbreviated AS, colloquially also referred to as Akademen (pronounced [akaˈdeːmɛn]),^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a Finland-Swedish academic male voice choir in Helsinki, Finland. The choir was founded in 1838 by Fredrik Pacius and is the oldest extant choir in Finland.^[1] It is one of two male voice choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the oldest extant Finnish-language choir, the YL Male Voice Choir (Finnish: Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat). Furthermore, it is one of two Swedish-language choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran (Swedish: Akademiska Damkören Lyran).

History

Overview

Fredrik Pacius (1809–1891), founder and conductor 1838–1846

Drawing by Mazér of the young Pacius

Martin Wegelius (1846–1906), conductor 1870–1871 and 1873–1876

Nils-Eric Fougstedt (1910–1961), conductor 1946–1950

Erik Bergman (1911–2006), conductor 1950–1969

Henrik Otto Donner (1939–2013), conductor 1969–1976

Akademiska Sångföreningen was founded no later than in the spring of 1838 by Fredrik Pacius, music lecturer at the Imperial Alexander University of Finland (now the University of Helsinki) and known as "the father of Finnish music," at first under the name Akademiska Sångsällskapet.^{[lower-alpha 2][2]} The choir is thus the oldest extant in Finland.^[1] The name Akademiska Sångföreningen was introduced no later than 1846.^[3]

During the 19th century the choir became a symbol of national awakening in the emerging Finnish nation, at the time part of the Russian empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. On 13 May 1848,^[4] Pacius' composition Vårt land (Our Land), set to the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, was performed for the first time by the choir, conducted by Pacius, during the students' celebration of the Flora Day. The composition was later to become the national anthem of the independent Finnish nation.

In the 1850s and 60s, elite triple quartets (so-called sångartolfvor, literally singer twelves) from within the choir's ranks participated in raising the funds necessary to build what is today known as the Old Student House in Helsinki (Swedish: Gamla studenthuset, Finnish: Vanha ylioppilastalo), by travelling the country performing.^[5] The Old Student House was finished in 1870^[6] and it is still the location for the choir's weekly rehearsals.

During the second half of the 20th century, the choir, directed by modernist Erik Bergman, came to carve out new paths for the male voice choir tradition in Finland, proving that this genre of music was able to exhibit superior musical qualities. After Bergman, jazz musician Henrik Otto Donner carried on this tradition.

At end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 80s the choir was engaged in lighter types of music. The Akademen a la carte concerts in Finlandia Hall were successful and, when necessary, members of the choir would compose pieces of music themselves.

During the 20th century the choir had several prominent conductors: Bengt Carlson, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Erik Bergman, Henrik Otto Donner, Markus Westerlund, Eric-Olof Söderström, Tom Eklundh, John Schultz and Henrik Wikström all directed the choir.^[7][8] Present conductor Kari Turunen, DMus, has directed the choir since the autumn semester of 2008.

Present activities

The Old Student House in Helsinki, where the choir rehearsed from inauguration in 1870 and throughout most of the 20th century, and as of 2016 rehearses every other semester

The Balder House in Helsinki, where the choir as of 2016 rehearses every other semester

Being the oldest extant male voice choir in Finland, Akademiska Sångföreningen has always cared particularly for the classical Finnish male voice repertoire. Among the composers whose compositions form part of the choir's standard repertoire are honorary members^[11] Jean Sibelius, Selim Palmgren and Erik Bergman, as well as fellow composers Toivo Kuula and Leevi Madetoja.^[12] Furthermore, being a Finland-Swedish organization, the choir has always seen it as a natural and important task to champion the Swedish-speaking minority culture in Finland. Hence, the standard repertoire encompasses not only choral works of Finnish and Finland-Swedish origin, but also many works of Swedish origin, for example by honorary member Hugo Alfvén.^[11][12]

As implied by its name, the choir is an academic or students' choir, and like its Helsinki sister choir the Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran (Swedish: Akademiska Damkören Lyran) an independent 'music corporation' (Swedish: musikkorporation, Finnish: musiikkikorporaatio) affiliated with the University of Helsinki. The choir presently comprises some 50 active singers, many of whom are university students. Concerts are given regularly in Finland, and the choir travels abroad frequently. In addition to most European countries, the choir has been on tour in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States,^[13] Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Particularly in recent years, the choir has devoted itself to actively producing records, explicitly in order to document high quality male voice choir repertoire in Swedish. Apart from Swedish, the choir also sings in the parody language Transpiranto on the record Happi kvam pippi, which was released in 2006. A later album, Hymn to Finland, was produced by Swedish label BIS Records and documents works for male voice choir by founder Fredrik Pacius. The record was released on 19 March 2009, the 200th anniversary of Pacius' birth.

The choir maintains contacts with other similar choirs, in Finland in particular with male voice academic choirs Brahe Djäknar in Turku and the YL Male Voice Choir (Finnish: Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat) in Helsinki, and in Sweden in particular with Orphei Drängar in Uppsala, Stockholm Academic Male Chorus (Swedish: Stockholms Studentsångare) in Stockholm, Linköping University Male Voice Choir (Swedish: Linköpings Studentsångare) in Linköping and Lund University Male Voice Choir (Swedish: Lunds Studentsångförening) in Lund.

Ever since 1954, the choir has collaborated extensively with the Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran (Swedish: Akademiska Damkören Lyran),^[14][15] the only other Swedish-language University of Helsinki choir. The two choirs give several annually recurring concerts together.^[16]

Discography

Notes

Citations

References

Erik Bergman conducting the choir on May Day 1968 in Helsinki.

Further reading

External links

• Official website
• University of Helsinki
• Student Union of the University of Helsinki
• Yle Arkivet: "Akademiska sångföreningen är Finlands äldsta kör" (in Swedish)