Säkkijärven polkka (in Finnish pronounced as /ˈsækːiˌjærʋen ˈpolkːɑ/; "the Säkkijärvi polka") is a well-known folk tune from Finland that is very popular with Finnish accordionists. It was especially popularized by Viljo "Vili" Vesterinen (1907–1961). The tune was first recorded in Säkkijärvi (now Kondrat'evo in the Leningrad Oblast, Russia), and the lyrics sometimes sung with the tune, stating that while Säkkijärvi itself might have been lost (ceded to the Soviet Union in 1940), the Finns at least still had the polkka.[1] Most famous and historical is the recording made on June 17, 1939 with former members of the Dallapé Orchestra. The recording took place in the ballroom of the German school in Helsinki. The recording became not only the savior of Viipuri, but also the most famous performance of all time of the Säkkijärvi polkka.
This polka's melody had been played at least as early as the end of the 19th century in Southern Karelia, when it didn't have a name yet. From there it caught on in the repertoire of many accordion players of that time. Polka had been played mostly by the pelimanni from Säkkijärvi "since I could remember", and the song got the name Säkkijärvi polka from this. The melody has similarities to some western Russian and Polish tanhu tunes. "The church musician Primus Leppänen (1872–1934), who was the cantor of Säkkijärvi, wrote the polka notes on paper, dutifully marking it as a folk tune. He meant an orchestra piece with his polka notes, but it turned out to be a dance tune." This is what Väinö Seppä, a teacher from Säkkijärvi, said.
According to Toivo Tamminen, Väinö Kähärä, a pelimanni from Säkkijärvi, played an important role in the birth of polka, who combined three polkas he heard from his home region into one whole. After moving to the United States in 1927, Kähärä became a student in New York of the Norwegian-American-Finnish accordionist Willy Larsen, to whom Kähärä taught Finnish dance songs in return for playing lessons. The first Säkkijärvi polka was thus recorded by Willy Larsen in his own arrangement in New York in October 1928 under the name Säk'järvi polka for Columbia Records with piano accordion.
Viljo Vesterinen recorded the song four times. Vesterinen's first recording took place as early as 1930 with Suomi Jazz Orkesteri. The recording was not an accordion solo, but the chorus of the song was sung by Kurt Londen (under the pseudonym Ilmari Rae) based on the lyrics written by RR Ryynänen. In addition, he recorded it in 1939 with the Dallapé orchestra and after the wars in 1947 and finally together with Lasse Pihlajamaa in 1952.
During the Continuation War, the Finnish Army discovered that the retreating Soviets had scattered radio-controlled mines throughout the re-captured city of Viipuri. These mines were set off when a three-note chord was played on the frequency the radio was tuned to; each mine had three tuning forks that oscillated at specific frequencies unique to each mine. Immediately after the conquest of Vyborg, the Finns wondered at the strange mine explosions. At first, the combat engineers suspected they were time-triggered mines. On August 28, 1941, the combat engineers found triggers packed in rubber bags in Antrea from a 600 kg explosive charge installed under the Moonlight Bridge. The combat engineers quickly delivered those devices to Headquarters in Mikkeli, which delivered them to the Communications Department. The Communications Department ordered Captain of Engineering (later Professor) Jouko Pohjanpalo to take them to Helsinki as a matter of urgency, and with the help of YLE, they were dismantled and investigated. It was subsequently found that mines had been located throughout the city. The Finns found out the locations of the mines from the Soviet soldiers imprisoned in the Soviet Union.
On September 1, the General Staff in Vyborg received one broadcast van from Yleisradio,[2] capable of transmitting over the frequency used by the mines. The car in question was a REO 2L 4 210 Speedwagon taken from Nuijamaan auto Oy. The car was used by N. Sauros.[3]
Säkkijärvi polkka was present among the van's record collection and to prevent the enemy from operating the mines, they started playing the Säkkijärvi polkka - and specifically the version recorded by Vesterinen - without any pauses. On September 4, it was noticed that Soviet troops were continuously transmitting the triggering triads on the same transmission frequency. Thus began the battle of the radio waves. The broadcast continued for three days until another car was sent from Aunus to Vyborg.[4] In the meantime, an examination of the dismantled triggers had revealed that Soviet troops had radio mines operating on three different radio frequencies. There was a great fear that the internal combustion engines running the broadcast van generators could fail, and therefore the military quickly ordered additional 50-watt transmitters[5] from Helvar, which were delivered as early as September 9, 1941. These continued to broadcast interference transmissions until February 2, 1942.[6] The military had calculated that the mine batteries were depleted within three months at the latest.
The polkka is often sung with lyrics authored by Reino Helismaa in 1953, which can be seen here in Finnish and English:
| On kauniina muistona Karjalan maa,mutta vieläkin syömmestä soinnahtaa, kun soittajan sormista kuulla saa, Säkkijärven polkkaa! Se polkka taas menneitä mieleen tuo ja se outoa kaipuuta rintaan luo. Hei, soittaja, haitarin soida suo Säkkijärven polkkaa | Nuoren ja vanhan se tanssiin vie, ei sille polkkalle vertaa lie! Sen kanssa on vaikka mierontie Säkkijärven polkkaa | Siinä on liplatus laineitten, siinä on huojunta honkien. Karjala soi - kaikki tietää sen - Säkkijärven polkkaa! Tule, tule tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin, kun polkka niin herkästi helkähtää. Hoi | Hepo surkoon ja hammasta purkoon, kun sillä on ihmeesti suurempi pää! Tule, tule, tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin kun meillä on riemu ja suvinen sää | Säkkijärvi se meiltä on pois, mutta jäi toki sentään polkka! Kun rakkaimmat rannat on jääneet taa, niin vieraissa kulkija lohdun saa, kun kuuntelee soittoa kaihoisaa: Säkkijärven polkkaa | Se polkka on vain, mutta sellainen, että tielle se johtavi muistojen. On sointuna Karjalan kaunoisen: Säkkijärven polkka! Nuoren ja vanhan se tanssiin vie, ei sille polkkalle vertaa lie | Sen kanssa on vaikka mierontie Säkkijärven polkkaa! Siinä on liplatus laineitten, siinä on huojunta honkien. Karjala soi - kaikki tietää sen - Säkkijärven polkkaa | Tule, tule tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin, kun polkka niin herkästi helkähtää. Hoi! Hepo surkoon ja hammasta purkoon, kun sillä on ihmeesti suurempi pää | Tule, tule, tyttö, nyt kanssani tanssiin kun meillä on riemu ja suvinen sää! Säkkijärvi se meiltä on pois, mutta jäi toki sentään polkka | Kun rakkaimmat rannat on jääneet taa, niin vieraissa kulkija lohdun saa, kun kuuntelee soittoa kaihoisaa: Säkkijärven polkkaa! Se polkka on vain, mutta sellainen, että tielle se johtavi muistojen. On sointuna Karjalan kaunoisen: Säkkijärven polkka | The land of Karelia is only a beautiful memory,but music still sounds from the heart, when the musician's fingers let you hear, the Säkkijärvi polkka! That polkka brings past times to mind and creates a strange longing in the chest. Hey, musician, let the accordion play the Säkkijärvi polkka | It takes the young and the old to dancing, nothing compares to that polkka! With it even living without a roof is Säkkijärvi polkka | It has the rippling of the waves, it has the waver of the pine trees. Karelia sounds - everybody knows it - the Säkkijärvi polkka! Come, come girl, dance with me now, when the polkka jingles so delicately. Hey | Let the horse lament and clench its teeth, when it has a larger head! Come, come, girl, dance with me now when we have joy and a summerly weather | We have lost Säkkijärvi, but we still have the polkka left! When the dearest strands have been left behind, a wanderer in foreign places finds solace, when listening to the wistful music: the Säkkijärvi polkka | It is only polkka, but the kind, that leads to the path of memories. The sound of the beautiful Karelia is: the Säkkijärvi polkka! It takes the young and the old to dancing, nothing compares to that polkka | With it even living without a roof is Säkkijärvi polkka! It has the rippling of the waves, it has the waver of the pine trees. Karelia sounds — everybody knows it — the Säkkijärvi polkka | Come, come girl, dance with me now, when the polkka jingles so delicately. Hey! Let the horse lament and clench its teeth, when it has a larger head | Come, come, girl, dance with me now when we have joy and a summerly weather! We have lost Säkkijärvi, but we still have the polkka left | When the dearest strands have been left behind, a wanderer in foreign places finds solace, when listening to the wistful music: the Säkkijärvi polkka! It is only polkka, but the kind, that leads to the path of memories. The sound of the beautiful Karelia is: the Säkkijärvi polkka |
|---|