Exploring Astronomy and Folk in Finland

On Friday evening, I went on a trip to the Tampere Observatory, basically the headquarters for the Tampere astronomical club. In the astronomical department, Finland is known for its fine technology, active amateurs (who often get together in clubs), and theoretical astrophysics. Finland can get pretty cloudy, which makes it hard to see stars at night. I remembered my job at Keck Observatory, where I updated electronic drawings for engineers among other office tasks. I would walk down the hallways and see beautiful pictures of places far from Earth.

Here is more information about the observatory: http://www.tampereenursa.fi/?page={CAD90C3D-96E7-461E-9617-FD88EDDA1A9C}

After the excursion, I went with Pablo, Albert, Shizuka, Sanam (from India) and Uzair to Telakka, an old, popular restaurant in Tampere, to watch two folk performances.

Here is a clip from the first:

Finnish folk music began with the Kalevalaic era (named after Finnish national epic, the Kalevala), dating back more than two thousand years, with influences of Baltic people. It is associated with the chain, dance, the lament and instruments such as the five-stringed kantele, the bowed hard and other folk wind instruments. Finnish folk music in the 17th and 18th centuries began to draw influence from the West, at the period of agrarian or pelimanni music, which is tonal and often is played on the fiddle and clarinet and later on accordions. Music was a part of the daily lives in the agrarian community, offering the community humor and relief during work. Narratives were used in songs to teach morals and manners. In the early 19th century, Finnish folk adopted elements from European light music and Afro-American music. Today, Finland is a leading country in the collection and research of traditional folk music (the University of Tampere has been offering classes on ethnomusicology since the mid 1970s). Beginning in the late 1960s, the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival has been drawing local and international attention, and has hosted thousands of musicians. Summer is the season for folk, and there are other festivals besides the one in Kaustinen. With the creation of the Sibelius Academy's folk music department in 1983, Finnish folk music has garnered much attention.

Source: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/0/0FAC6C2EF5259C15C225753C004FE1E7?opendocument

The second group is well known in Finland. They have been playing together for over 20 years. I'll find out names and post soon.

(This one brought some tears)

Oh, I'm loving Tampere...