Monday, December 4, 2017

Song of a Drifter: Värttinä and "Päivän Nousu Nostajani"



Today's random song is by Värttinä. Värttinä is a Finnish folk group founded in 1983 by sisters Sari and Mari Kaasinen, who had performed together reading poetry in the 1970s. In 1983, the sisters entered a youth arts contest with their poetry reading. They made it into the finals that first year. The next year they decided to refocus on singing and they won the event. They brought on some male members in 1985 and entered the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, becoming known as the group that sings high and loud. Many children in their hometown were now eager to join the band, and finally Värttinä had to establish a new group for the youngest children to join. In 1987, at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, they were chosen "Ensemble of the Year," and in 1988 they released their first album. In the early 1990s, they moved to Helsinki and began training at the Sibelius Academy and perfecting their skills. The band first performed traditional Finnish folk songs, but in the mid-1990s began playing its own original compositions. Over the years the band has had many forms and lineup changes, and is currently made up of three female vocalists and three acoustic musicians. They have performed worldwide to international acclaim and have released 14 albums, including 3 compilation albums and one live CD. You can find this song, Päivän Nousu Nostajani, on their 1998 album Vihma.

The song's lyrics are:

Where can I go, poor drifter in this world?
Where will my song take me, child that I am?

Evening is my father and dusk is my nurse;
the dark night is my keeper and dawn my rouser.

I have nothing but the wind to rely on.
I shall keep my hands from play and close my mouth to song.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

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