Four mythic animals

The work is a commission by the Association of Finnish Accordion Teachers. The objective of the commisison was to create a work that will suit accordion students, both in technical viewpoint as well as register-wise. The aim was to create different stylistic characteristics for each of the four movements. Joutsenet (The Swans) is a melancholic and romantic elegy, Hirvi (The Moose) starts off in a grandious manner, until it folds into an enigmatic waltz. Suden häät (The Wolf's Wedding) is a rythmically quirky, folksy dance. The fourth movement, Hauen laulu (The Song of the Pike), is the most modernistic of the movements. The pike is trying to sing after its jawbone has been taken by the Kalevala hero Väinämöinen, to use it for building his kantele (Finnish zither).