Savijoki, "So that the soul would dance in you" - The guitar in Finland before the twentieth century

The present book is a study of the guitar's history in Finland prior to the twentieth century, a subject that has not been researched before. Each chapter of the book centres around a specific theme, starting with early plucked instruments in Finland and the beginnings of Finnish guitar culture. The chapters that follow introduce the country's first amateur guitarists - prominent figures in music, literature and the fine arts among them - and discuss the public performance culture of the guitar, the sale of its music and the manufacture and distribution of guitar strings. In addition, the cost of guitar playing as a hobby is provided in overview, while contemporary anecdotes and other miscellaneous press reports paint a lighter-hearted picture of the instrument. Owing to the pioneering nature of this study, most of its findings are here presented to the general public for the first time. The reader will find out, for instance, who wrote the first Finnish composition for the guitar as well as Fredrik Lithander's thoughts about the instrument.