Alakotila, T.: Finn Tango II

Edition for Viola and piano, 2 performing scores, edited by Timo Alakotila. Difficulty: advanced.

Finnish tango for viola and piano – is this a viola joke? Or a Finnish joke? On the contrary, it can said that in this music, two souls encounter one another.

Finnish tango, the blues of Finnish people, was created in the late 1940s by Toivo Kärki. Tango specialist M. A. Numminen explains that in developing Finnish Tango, Kärki combined »the Russian romance with the German march.« He further notes that, Finnish tango is genuine only in the minor tonality, »as we are only truly happy when we are unhappy.« To many a viola player, this will be a heart-warming statement.
In this volume we present four tangos, each of which may be regarded as classics of the genre.

The tango arrangements are transcribed freely and leave space for interpretatory liberties, meaning that ornamentation, phrasing and rhythmical variations may be added/ changed, according to the individual taste of the players. We attach the texts of these tangos in the original language as well as in their German translation, as they are occasionally sung by Finnish tango singers. This allows all those proficient in Finnish to enjoy the soulful, original texts, whilst offering the others a wonderful glimpse into Finnish tango poetry.

Publisher: Partitura Verlag PV2806.

Content:

• Pieni sydän (Pekkarinen)
• Satumaa (Mononen)
• Ruhtinaan viulu (Pekkarinen)