Fredrik Pacius (; born Friedrich Pacius; 19 March 1809 – 8 January 1891)
was a German-Finnish composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".
Pacius was born in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, postal ...
. He was appointed music teacher at the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
in 1834. In
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
he founded a musical society, the student choir
Akademiska Sångföreningen
The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki ( sv, Akademiska Sångföreningen, lit=The Academic Song Association, ), abbreviated AS, colloquially also known as , but without lexical meaning. (), is a Finland-Swedish academic male-voice choir in H ...
and an orchestra. In 1848, Pacius wrote the music to the poem "
Vårt land" by
Johan Ludvig Runeberg, which was to become Finland's
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
. Pacius's music was also used for the
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n national anthem "
Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm
"" (; "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy") is the national anthem of Estonia. It was adopted as the national anthem () in 1920.
The lyrics were written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and are set to a melody composed in 1848 by Fredrik (Friedri ...
" and the
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
n ethnic anthem "
Min izāmō, min sindimō".
In 1852, he composed ''
Kung Karls jakt
Kung Karls jakt (English: ''King Charles' Hunt''; Finnish: ''Kaarle-kuninkaan metsästys'') is an opera with music by Fredrik Pacius and a libretto by Zacharias Topelius. It was the first opera to be composed in Finland. ''Kung Karls jakt'' was f ...
'' (''The Hunt of King Charles''), which was the first Finnish opera, with a
libretto in the style of
Romantic nationalism, like the national anthem designed to convince Finland's
grand duke (i.e. the
Russian Emperor
The emperor or empress of all the Russias or All Russia, ''Imperator Vserossiyskiy'', ''Imperatritsa Vserossiyskaya'' (often titled Tsar or Tsarina/Tsaritsa) was the monarch of the Russian Empire.
The title originated in connection with Russia' ...
Nicholas I) of the total loyalty of his subjects in Finland. The libretto was written by the author and historian
Zacharias Topelius
Zachris Topelius (, ; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history.
Given name
Zacharias is his baptismal name, and this ...
in close collaboration with the composer.
His compositions also include a
violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
, a
symphony, a
string quartet and several other operas.
Pacius died in Helsinki, aged 81.
Works
* Orchestral
** Symphony in D minor (1850)
** Overture in E-flat major (1826)
** Violin Concerto in F-sharp minor (1845)
* Vocal music
** ''
Kung Karls jakt
Kung Karls jakt (English: ''King Charles' Hunt''; Finnish: ''Kaarle-kuninkaan metsästys'') is an opera with music by Fredrik Pacius and a libretto by Zacharias Topelius. It was the first opera to be composed in Finland. ''Kung Karls jakt'' was f ...
'' (''Kaarle-kuninkaan metsästys'', "King Carl's Hunt"), opera (1852)
** ''
Prinsessan av Cypern
''The Princess of Cyprus'' (in Swedish: ), Op. 9, is an opera in four acts written from 1931 to 1936 by the Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson; the Swedish-language libretto is by Finnish author and playwright Zacharias Topelius. The o ...
'',
Singspiel (1860)
** ''Die Loreley'', opera (1862–87)
** Cantatas
** Choruses
** Lieder
*
Chamber music
** String Quartet in E-flat major (1826)
Literature
*
Tomi Mäkelä Tomi Matti Mäkelä (born 4 January 1964 in Lahti) is a Finnish musicologist and pianist, professor at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. He studied music and musicology in Lahti, Vienna, Berlin (West) and Helsinki. As a pia ...
, ''Friedrich Pacius – ein deutscher Komponist in Finnland: mit einer Edition der Tagebücher, Briefe und Arbeitsmaterialien von Silke Bruns'', Hildesheim; Zürich
tc. Olms; Helsinki: Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, 2014,
*
Tomi Mäkelä Tomi Matti Mäkelä (born 4 January 1964 in Lahti) is a Finnish musicologist and pianist, professor at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. He studied music and musicology in Lahti, Vienna, Berlin (West) and Helsinki. As a pia ...
, ''Fredrik Pacius, kompositör i Finland'', Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, Helsinki 2009;
*
Tomi Mäkelä Tomi Matti Mäkelä (born 4 January 1964 in Lahti) is a Finnish musicologist and pianist, professor at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. He studied music and musicology in Lahti, Vienna, Berlin (West) and Helsinki. As a pia ...
, Der Pionier. Fredrik Pacius, ''
Opernwelt
''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...
'', 11, 2009, 36–44.
References
External links
*
Finnish Music Information Center page on Pacius' Vocal Works*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacius, Fredrik
1809 births
1891 deaths
Musicians from Hamburg
Finnish classical composers
German emigrants to Finland
Male opera composers
National anthem writers
19th-century classical composers
Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery
19th-century male musicians
Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki
Finnish opera composers