Johan Fridolf Hagfors
Johan Fridolf Hagfors (11 March 1857–18 August 1931) was a newspaper publisher, music critic and composer, most known for having composed the two songs Modersmålets sång ('The mother tongue's song') and Ålänningens sång ('Song of the Ålander').
Born in Orimattila, Grand Duchy of Finland, he got a Candidate of Philosophy degree in 1881. In 1883, he became the publicist for Turun Lehti, a small newspaper in Åbo (Turku) published in Finnish but aligned with the Svecoman movement. It was the only newspaper with this unique combination to reach a wide readership. He also worked as a teacher in Åbo.[1]
He composed several songs for male quartets. Modersmålets sång was first performed in 1989 and is today considered an unofficial hymn for the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.[2] Ålänningens sång, for which he composed the melody, was first performed during the song festival in Mariehamn in 1922 and is today the regional hymn for Åland.
In 1912 he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.[1]
Due to stiff competition, Turun Lehti ceased publication in 1919.[1] Hagfors subsequently moved to Stockholm and obtained Swedish citizenship in 1922. He died in 1931. Fellow composer Erik August Hagfors was his half-brother.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Johan Fridolf Hagfors Nordisk familjebok. Ugglaupplagen, supplement (1924)
- ^ a b Hagfors, Fridolf Archived 2014-10-31 at the Wayback Machine Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 7 November 2014
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