Johan Fridolf Hagfors (11 March 1857–18 August 1931) was a Swedish newspaper publisher, music critic and composer, most known for having composed the two songs '' Modersmålets sång'' (The

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

's song) and ''

Ålänningens sång "" ( fi, "Ahvenanmaalaisten laulu", italics=no; en, "Song of the Ålander") is the official anthem of the Åland Islands, an autonomous Swedish-speaking province of Finland. Adopted in 1922, the anthem's words are by John Grandell, and the m ...

'' (Song of the Ålender). Born in

Orimattila Orimattila () is a town in Päijänne Tavastia regions of Finland, region, Finland. The southern part of Lahti is connected to the village of Orimattila, which is located in the region of Pennala. There are also several municipalities in the area, ...

, he got a Cand.phil degree in 1881. In 1883 he became publicist of the small

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city and former Capital city, capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura (Archipelago Sea), Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland, Finland Proper ...

paper ''Turun Lehti'' which was published in

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but at the same time

Svecoman The Svecoman ( sv, Svekoman, , ) movement was a Suecophile or pro-Swedish nationalist movement that arose in the Grand Duchy of Finland at the end of the 19th century chiefly as a reaction to the demands for increased use of Finnish vigorously pr ...

; it became the only newspaper with that combination to reach a wide readership. He also worked as a teacher in Åbo.Johan Fridolf Hagfors

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

. Ugglaupplagen, supplement (1924) He composed several songs for male quartets. '' Modersmålets sång'' was first performed in 1989 and is today considered an unofficial hymn for the

Swedish-speaking population of Finland The Swedish-speaking population of Finland (whose members are called by many names; fi, suomenruotsalainen) can be used as an attribute., group=Note—see #Terminology, below; sv, finlandssvenskar; fi, suomenruotsalaiset) is a linguistic mi ...

.Hagfors, Fridolf

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. Retrieved 7 November 2014 ''

'', for which he composed the melody, was first performed during the song festival in

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...

in 1922 and is today the regional hymn for

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

. In 1912 he became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

. Due to stiff competition, ''Turun Lehti'' ceased publication in 1919. Hagfors subsequently moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and obtained Swedish citizenship. He died in 1931. Fellow composer Erik August Hagfors was his half-brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagfors, Johan Fridolf 1857 births 1931 deaths Finnish composers Finnish male composers Finnish publishers (people) Swedish-speaking Finns National anthem writers