New Mass Movements and Voluntary Organisations

The mass organisation of the common people began in the mid-nineteenth century in Finland and in the 1860s after the abolition of serfdom in Ingria. It had an im-pact on congregational singing as well because hymns were sung in different kinds of gatherings and festivals. Religious associations also published new collections of spiritual songs. While this inspired people to sing together, a confrontation arose between hymns and spiritual songs; many people who wanted to standardise con-gregational singing considered the latter ones a threat to it.

Active popular education, the temperance and labour movements, youth associ-ations, volunteer fire brigades and different kinds of leisure activity clubs started to bring people together both in towns and the countryside. Various communal celebrations and events were organised, at which there were also lectures, theatrical performances and dancing (Inkerin kansanjuhlat ja iltamat 1925/1926, 458–459, 467–468; Suomalainen Kansan-Kalenteri Wenäjällä 1899, 91; Lehtonen 1994, passim;

Flink 2000, 347). In Ingria, all of these were organised in the Lutheran parishes or in close relationship with them because the Russian rulers did not allow the Ingrian Finns to establish any kind of independent organisation for schools or culture ex-cept for the Church (Iho 1950, 50).

As a result of these new forms of popular organisation, new musical groups and their repertoire became increasingly common among the ordinary people. Choirs and brass bands were a central part of most of the aforementioned organisations from the very beginning. The music of these new mass movements differed from what had been the norm; when sung by heart, the melodies and singing style had changed freely, but the transition to sheet music required precision and unity. Con-gregational singing was thus not the only music that was standardised in the nine-teenth century (cf. e.g. Laitinen 1982, 125–127). The choirs and brass bands mod-elled themselves after high culture and the repertoire consisted of music that the gentry used. Music had a central role in national events in the late nineteenth century because it was seen as an effective tool to infuse the minds of the ordinary people.

For that reason, music in these new movements, associations and societies was not meant to be entertainment alone. It acted to disseminate social and political ideolo-gies, religious, often revivalist, notions and uplifting morals (Kurkela 1983, 209–210;

Rantanen 2013a, 98, 178–181).

The composition of the choirs formed by free popular organisation reflected the changed social status of women. In the academic choirs, the singers were mainly men, for women did not receive the right to complete an academic degree until 1882. The choirs of new associations and societies, however, included both women and men representing different social strata. The choirs also sang mostly in Finnish, initially folk songs and translated foreign songs, but gradually moving towards more Finnish choral compositions as well (Ketomäki 2012, 49).

The first religious associations in Finland, Finnish Bible Society and the Finnish Evangelical Society were founded as early as the 1810s. Both of them were meant to publish and spread books, the former Bibles and the latter one spiritual and tem-perance booklets. They were primarily authority-led associations for the religious education of the people; their membership was mostly limited to the upper classes and meant to be an economic supporter by nature. Many more associations were established in the second half of the century. Enthusiasm for missionary work gave birth to two organisations operating both at home and abroad: the Finnish Evangel-ical Lutheran Mission and Finnish Seamen’s Mission. There was also an association for students interested in missionary activities, the Academic Volunteers’ Mission-ary Association. Five associations were established for teaching children and youth:

The Finnish Sunday School Association, the general Christian YMCA and YWCA as well as their confessional Lutheran counterpart, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen nuo-rukaisyhdistys, the Female Student Christian Association and the Student Christian Association for male students. The Evangelical Movement was officially organised when the Lutheran Evangelical Association in Finland was founded. In addition, there were two local Christian associations in nineteenth-century Finland: the Hel-sinki City Mission and the Evangelical Society in Sortavala (see Table 7; Murtorinne 1992, 62–66, 254–268, 324–326, 360–366).

Table 7. Christian associations founded in nineteenth-century Finland. Murtorinne 1992, 62–66, 254–268, 324–326, 360–366. The English translations are either official and established or made by the author.

year Finnish name Swedish name translation

1812 Suomen Pipliaseura Finska Bibelsällskapet Finnish Bible Society 1817 Suomen Evankelinen Seura Finska Evangeliska Sällskapet Finnish Evangelical Society 1859 Suomen Lähetysseura Finska Missionssällskapet Finnish Evangelical

Lutheran Mission 1873 Suomen Luterilainen

Evankeliumiyhdistys Finska Lutherska

Evangeliföre-ningen Lutheran Evangelical

Association in Finland 1875 Suomen Merimieslähetysseura Finska Sjömansmissionssällskapet Finnish Seamen’s Mission 1883 Helsingin Kaupunkilähetys Helsingfors Stadsmission Helsinki City Mission 1888 Suomen Evankelisluterilainen

Unga Män (KFUM) Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) 1889 Evankelis-luterilainen

nuorukaisyhdistys Evangelical Lutheran Youth

Association

1890 Sortavalan Evankelinen Seura Evangelical Society in

Sor-tavala 1895 Nuorten Naisten Kristillinen

Yhdistys (NNKY) Kristliga Föreningen av

Unga Kvinnor (KFUK) Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) 1899 Ylioppilasten Kristillinen Yhdistys Studenters Kristliga Förening Students’ Christian Association

New Anglo-Saxon spiritual songs found their way to Finland and Ingria through these associations. The Great Awakening that started in America in the eighteenth century spread to England in the mid-nineteenth century and soon after that to Scandinavia. In Finland, perhaps due to Pietism-based movements, this new awak-ening mostly considered the Free Church dimensions. However, many spiritual songs became popular in Lutheran associations as well (Vaalas 1973, 11–12).

In comparison with the old hymns, these new spiritual songs had novel themes.

At the same time with the religious awakening both in America and Europe, social awakening started and strengthened. Quick industrialisation caused social problems and increased mental and material distress, as a result of which a need for inner mission and diaconal work arose. Both child and youth work and mission began at the same time in many places. All of these fields required new songs because themes of charity and neighbourliness were almost absent in hymnals (Vaalas 1973, 14–15).

The melodies of these spiritual songs differed from Lutheran chorales, especially from their even-note versions, which is why they were both admired and resisted.

For instance, O.I. Colliander (1877, 194–195) considered them a threat to proper congregational singing. For him, their rhythmic melodies were a sign that the or-dinary people had an unconscious need for original rhythmic versions of chorales and livelier congregational singing in general. However, according to Colliander, the melodies of spiritual songs differed from ‘the noble and elevated style of the church chorales through their playful and often even easy-going melodies, borrowed from profane music’¹²². Colliander feared that once these ‘non-ecclesiastical melodies’

replaced the chorale, the consequence would be that ‘the objectively ecclesiastical lyrics of the old hymns’ would be allowed to fall into the shadow of ‘the lighter, subjective, spiritual poems.’

The effect of spiritual songs on congregational singing was twofold. On the one hand, there was a new repertoire and with it a new enthusiasm for singing together.

On the other hand, the new Anglo-Saxon melodies, alongside the local Finnish cho-rale variants, posed a new threat to standardisation and thus indirectly strengthened the position of the traditional Lutheran chorale in the minds of many specialists.