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http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=19-Mar-2010&lang=en&s=1919
http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=19-Mar-2010&lang=en&s=1919
19-Mar-2010
‘Säkkijärven Polkka’ at War!, Karelia – Finlandby John Higham |
 Viljo ‘Vili’ Vesterinen (1907-61) was a Finnish accordionist and composer. In 1939 he recorded the ‘Säkkijärven Polkka’, which became the most popular version of this well-known tune. In the summer of 1941, for the third time in two years, Finland found itself at war with the USSR, this time fighting on the German side in World War Two. The Finnish army was puzzled why bridges they had captured would blow up a few days later, and found that the reason was the Soviets had installed time bombs, operated by a radio fuse. ‘Yleisradio’ - the National Broadcasting Co - discovered that a signal transmitted on a certain wavelength would cause the tuning forks attached to the trigger to vibrate, activating a fuse relay mechanism. To prevent this happening, the Finns started to transmit Vili Vesterinen´s recording of the ‘Säkkijärven Polkka’ relentlessly on the radio, day and night, at that particular frequency. The tune was broadcast for the next nine months, from the beginning of September until the end of spring 1942, by which time the Finnish army estimated that the batteries of the mines had gone flat. The ‘Säkkijärven Polkka’ is arguably the most played and recorded of Finnish folk dance tunes, and is still frequently performed in concerts and accordion contests across Scandinavia. Vili Vesterinen's life was told in the 1955 movie ‘Säkkijärven Polkka’, starring the actor Sakari Jurkka in the role of the accordionist. Vesterinen appeared in the film as himself in a cameo role. The eSheet music of Sakkijarven Polka (catalog faies5002) arranged by Kimmo Mattila is available online, purchase with credit card. |