Selim Palmgren (1878–1951) was a composer, pianist and conductor considered to have been the foremost Finnish composer after Jean Sibelius. Like Sibelius he was part of the Finnish national music movement, but he also wanted his music to appeal to international audiences. In a 1921 interview he said “I’m interested in all folk music, because I have used quite a good deal of that of my own country, though my work is less characteristic of the real Finnish music than that of Sibelius. They told me in Paris when I was there recently that the French conductors found Sibelius’s orchestral works difficult to conduct but that mine were easier. I suppose that means that my music is less local in character.” His compositional style is generally late-Romantic, merging into impressionism - along with some surprisingly modernist material, notable in these four choral works. Palmgren’s and Sibelius’ music share some parallel characteristics which contribute to a sort of “Finnish sound.”

In Finland Palmgren regularly conducted choral and orchestral societies and toured throughout Finland and Scandinavia both as a pianist and a conductor. In 1921 he traveled to the United States to teach composition at the Eastman School of Music. Although his piano works were performed by the great pianists of the early 20th century, his music is now seldom performed outside Finland. “Part of the problem is that Palmgren himself did little to promote his works, there’s no complete catalogue of his works, and many of his works are undated and still remain in manuscript. Rather than taking Palmgren’s own self-description of himself merely as ‘a musician,’ we should consider him a composer of ‘international significance who simply lacked time to write a bigger number of works.’ “ We hope our performance of this excellent song for choir might inspire listeners to seek out more of Palmgren’s music.