1. On ilta, ulkona tuuli käy, se laaksoa laajaa kaartaa.
Yö töllin köyhään nyt ennättäy, kuin huoneita rikkaan saartaa.
Viel' eikö näy, viel' eikö näy tuo valo mi lohdun antaa?
Viel' eikö näy, viel' eikö näy tuo valo mi lohdun antaa?
2. Nyt lunta, jäätäkin tuuli tuo, ja voimassaan myrsky yltyy.
Vain pesä linnuille suojan suo, ne varjohon metsän siirtyy.
Pienoiset nuo, pienoiset nuo saa turvansa kunnes tyyntyy.
Pienoiset nuo, pienoiset nuo saa turvansa kunnes tyyntyy.
3. Mutt' täällä valkea lämmittää, ja kynttilän liekki loistaa,
seurassa rakkaitten ilta tää, mi lapsuuden riemun toistaa,
ain' mieleen jää, ain' mieleen jää ja arjenkin huolen poistaa,
ja arjenkin huolen poistaa.
Karl Collan (January 3, 1828, Iisalmi - September 12, 1871, Helsinki) was a Finnish writer and composer. He is considered one of the most respected representatives of Romantic-era solo song.
Karl Collan's parents were Pastor Pehr Johan Collan and Christina Elisabet Crohns, and his brothers were journalist Fabian Collan, doctor Alexander von Collan, and war chaplain Clas Collan. His spouse, from 1866, was the singer Maria Margareta Pacius, daughter of composer Fredrik Pacius and Nina Lucia Martin. Karl and Maria Collan’s daughter was the pianist Maria Elisabeth Beaurain.
Collan graduated from high school in 1842. He was awarded a Master's degree from the Imperial Alexander University in 1850, after which he worked as a teacher at the Swedish girls' school in Helsinki. In 1859, he was appointed as a lecturer in the German language at the university, and in 1866, as the university's librarian. He obtained his doctorate in 1860 after defending his thesis Öfversigt af Serviens historiska folksånger. He was the editor-in-chief of Litterär Tidskrift magazine from 1863 to 1865.
Collan died of cholera at the age of 43. He was buried at the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.
The most enduring aspect of Collan's legacy is his musical work. He was self-taught, and his compositions are almost exclusively simple solo and choral songs. His most famous composition is likely Sylvian joululaulu ("Sylvia’s Christmas Song"). Other notable compositions include Savolaisen laulu ("The Song of Savonia") and Vaasan marssi ("The March of Vaasa"). Collan was also a pioneer in the collection of Finnish folk melodies. As a fellow of the Finnish Literature Society, he undertook a field trip to collect folk songs and melodies in Savo and Karelia in 1854. As a result of this trip, he published two volumes of Valituita suomalaisia kansanlauluja ("Selected Finnish Folk Songs") in 1854-1856, which included folk melodies such as Kreivin sylissä istunut ("Sat in the Count’s Lap") and Paremp’ olla tyttönä ("Better to Be a Girl"). These inspired the Estonian composer Aleksander Kunileid to write choral songs for the first Estonian Song Festival, Sind surmani ("Until My Death") and Mu isamaa on minu arm ("My Fatherland Is My Love"). Collan composed the Hurtti-Ukko March to a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, which is the honorary march of the North Savo and Kainuu brigades. In the 1860s, he also translated the Kalevala into Swedish.
Painting: "Winter Landscape in Savo" 1860 - "Talvimaisema Savossa", by Magnus von Wright (1805-1868)
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Arr. M.Havela