The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1905-02-15
SING ALL THE WHILE
THE FINNS INDULGE IN SONG IN AND
OUT OF SEASON.

From Noble to Peasant and From tn.
City Lady to the W0aAan Who Work.
I'm the Field the People May BE Sale
to Form One Vast Choral Society.
In the palatial supper room of tht
great hotel in Helsingfors, the capita
| Of Finland-the best hotel in Russia
for the Firms represent all that is mos
progressive in the czar's empire-a com
pany of ladies and gentlemen seated
at one of the tables suddenly begar
singing. With trained voices they sang
four part folk lore song Of the north
land. Never heard I song SO deeply
melancholy. 1t was the music Of the
unhappiest of the enlightened peoples
Of the earth.
That was on my first evening in Fin.
land. From that time forth through.
out stay Of four weeks among those
sad hearted people listened to their
singing morning, noon and night al
most continuously. The Germans sing
great deal, the Swedes sing part of
the time, the Russians sing most of the
time, but the Films as a nation actu-
ally sing all the time
From noble to peasant, the men of
Finland may he said to form one
mighty male chorus. From the great
lady Of the capital city to the lowly
woman who builds houses with her
own hands on the borders Of Lapland,
the women of Finland may be said to
comprise one vast choral society. The
acknowledged finest singing society in
Europe is indeed the Helsingfors male
chorus. 1t is composed Of 100 mem
bers, and from their ranks are recruit
ed the singing teachers Of the country
Singing festivals as held by the
Firms are OF scale uneQualed in any
other country. Five thousand singers
gathered one night in the public square
In Helsingfors to serenades Finnish
artist named Rosenfeld, whose picture
had been awarded first prize at the To-
cal salon. In city that is a surprise
to all travellers, near the arctic circle,
many miles from a railroad, the city
Of Uleaborg, 1000 school children gath
cred in the park in front Of the hotel
and for half an hour, for the travellers
benefit, filed the air with the music
of the snow wilderness, with songs
that told of the vast loneliness Of the
country beyond the city.
Once in Helsingfors 10000 voices
Joined in chorus to sing the national
anthem. 1t was an improvised chorus,
but the singing was by no means the
harum scarum, go-as-you-pleasef sort,
bnt thoroughly organized into -four
parts and executed with precision.
This incident was described to- me by
the man in whose honor the great Choir
us gathered. Said he:
II was one Of the first persons ever
ess,ed from that part of the czar's
Bmain. My departure from Helsing-
fors was the occasion of a public dem
onstration Of surprising solemnity.
Ten thousand persons gathered at the
railway station to say goodby. The
crowd watched the leave taking in alb
solute silence, but as the train began
to move 10000 heads were uncovered,
and 10000 voices began singing the ma
tional anthem. And this scene was re-
peated-with fewer singers, Of course
at every railroad station all the way
to the port where I took a steamer for
America"
These singing Firms do not always
sing their folk lore songs or their pa
triotic anthems. They are deeply re-
ligious people, mostly Lutherans, and
each town has its special choir for
singing nothing but hymns. Iwent to
the largest church in the country to
hear the singing of a choir Of nearly u
hundred male voices. The grandest
cathedral organ never produced music
Of such majesty and power as did that
choir, which included the most won
derful bass voices in Russia.
Even the companies of Finnish
guards, though differed by Russians,
sang the Finnish anthem j. as they
past the hotel every morning
on the way to relieve the old guard.
The Russian officers once tried to put
a stop to the singing of the Finnish
song by the aoldierA but the
discomfort among the men became so
apparent that singing was again per-
mitted
Thus wherever the Firms get togeth-
er they burst into song. When they
cannot get together they sing individu-
ally. The housewife preparing the
cabbage soup sings. The farmer plow-
ing his field in summer or journeying
long distances on snowshoes in the
winter sings at the top of his voice.
Whenever l passed one Of the men in
the lonely districts in charge of a herd
IF reindeer he was singing. In the
oosthouses, where the traveller is shell.
tered overnight, the servants gather
when their days work is done and join
heir voices in the chorus.
This constant singing Is regarded by
Ill students of Finnish life as an i'm
oortant national influence. The effect
If 50 much music in the nations soul
IS seen in the emotional side Of the
peoples nature and has it's concrete
form in a ready sympathy that binds
he Films together as one family, each
'or all and all for each. Such Is this
nation Of singers that sings all the
ime.-London Tit-Bits
willing to L1ngeR.
Longevity is ever a subject of alb