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Fredrik Pacius

Fredrik Pacius (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈfreːdrik ˈpɑːsius], Finland Swedish: [ˈfreːdrik ˈpɑːsiʉs] ); in German and in Estonian Friedrich Pacius; 19 March 1809 – 8 January 1891) was a German-Finnish composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".

Pacius was born in Hamburg. He was appointed music teacher at the University of Helsinki in 1834. In Helsinki he founded a musical society, the student choir Akademiska Sångföreningen and an orchestra. In 1848, Pacius wrote the music to the poem "Vårt land" by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, which was to become commonly accepted as Finland's national anthem. The same melody was also used for the Estonian national anthem "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" and the Livonian ethnic anthem "Min izāmō, min sindimō".

In 1852, he composed Kung Karls jakt (English: King Charles' Hunt; Finnish: Kaarle-kuninkaan metsästys), which was the first Finnish opera, with a libretto in the style of Romantic nationalism, like the national anthem designed to convince Finland's grand duke (i.e. the Russian Emperor Nicholas I) of the total loyalty of his subjects in Finland. The libretto was written by the author and historian Zacharias Topelius in close collaboration with Pacius.

His compositions also include a violin concerto, a symphony, a string quartet and several other operas.

Pacius died in Helsinki, aged 81.

Birth and Death Data: Born Hamburg (city and state in the North of Germany), Died January 8, 1891 (Helsinki (capital and most populous city of Finland) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1906 - 1939

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-39 of 39 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Edison 5040 10-in. 10/4/1916 Soldatgossen Joel Mossberg Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 7415 10-in. 6/21/1920 O hellas barn Juho Koskelo Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 0SB1037 10-in. approximately 8/17/1939 Maamme laulu Lauri Alexander Näre ; Suomen Valkoisen Kaartin Soittokunta Band composer  
Gramophone 0SB1038 10-in. approximately 8/17/1939 Suomen laulu Suomen Valkoisen Kaartin Soittokunta Band composer  
Gramophone 0SB1039 10-in. approximately 8/17/1939 Sotilaspoika Suomen Valkoisen Kaartin Soittokunta Band composer  
Gramophone BW1664 10-in. 5/30/1928 Maamme laulu Helsingin Kaupunginorkesteri Orchestra composer  
Gramophone BW1665 10-in. 5/30/1928 Suomen laulu Helsingin Kaupunginorkesteri Orchestra composer  
Gramophone BW1670 10-in. 5/30/1928 Laps' Suomen älä vaihda pois Wäinö Sola Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone BW1675 10-in. 5/31/1928 Sotilaspoika Helsingin Kaupunginorkesteri Orchestra composer  
Gramophone BW1684 10-in. 5/31/1928 Suomis sång Manskören M. M. Male vocal chorus composer  
Gramophone BK2294 10-in. 9/19/1927 Kungssången (The king's song) Kungl. Flottans Musikkår Band composer  
Gramophone 0EA6224 10-in. 2/10/1938 Suomen laulu Martti Turunen ; Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat Male vocal chorus composer  
Gramophone 10283u 10-in. February 1907 Soldatgossen John Forsell Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 11579b 10-in. October 1908 Vårt land, vårt land John Forsell Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 26-39 of 39 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Pacius, Fredrik," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108875.

Pacius, Fredrik. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108875.

"Pacius, Fredrik." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108875

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