Vaerttinae
Frankfurter Hof
reviewed by Jutta Ziegler
Lucky the person who could understand the Karelian dialect of Finnish. Vaerttinae are a six-piece band plus three female singers from the Eastern part of Finland, near the Russian border. Their particular vernacular is difficult to understand even for native speakers. It was no surprise, then, that Vaerttinae’s exotic- sounding lyrics had a stunning effect on the audience. The three vocalists made good use of their high, but agreeable voices, giving an excellent performance of melancholy numbers rooted in the Russian tradition, several quick-paced dance tunes, and a traditional wedding song as well as arrangements for two or three voices and a cappella singing.
As I was assured by native speakers, many of the Vaerttinae songs had a distinctly female touch to them, demonstrating woman’s pre-emancipation role, e. g. in a song about washing, or another about a mother’s advice to her daughter. Others such as “Iro” and “Katariina” also had woman protagonists, and the band’s name “Vaerttinae” denotes a spindle, an item commonly associated with the Sleeping Beauty in the fairytale of that name. Vaerttinae’s music combined traditional Finnish instruments with popular ones, merging folk flavour with modern influences.
Formed as early as 1983, with the current line-up dating from 1990, however, the group have a large following in Finland. While their charming and lively performance, in parts relying on choreography and pantomime, will certainly have won them some fans in this country, too, it is hard to imagine that Vaerttinae will be able to repeat their success over here. Language does remain a barrier not to be underrated. Sadly so.
- Jutta Ziegler
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