Armas Launis

Armas Launis (April 22, 1884 – August 7, 1959), was a Finnish composer as well as an ethnomusicologist, a professor, a writer and a journalist. He was born in Hämeenlinna. Composer Armas Launis was mainly an opera composer. He wrote ten operas (both libretto and music). Several were performed: *In Finland: “The Seven Brothers” (1913), the first Finnish opera comique, and “Kullervo” (1917), both in full stage performance, and a concert performance of “Aslak Hetta” in 2004 at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, directed by Sakari Oramo. *In France: stage performance of Kullervo (1940, Nice, Palais de la Méditerranée) with radio broadcasts on Paris-Inter and Radio Monte-Carlo (1938–1940). A short version of “Jehudith” was also broadcast in 1954 (Paris-Inter) Armas Launis also wrote chamber music pieces, cantatas, choruses, suites for orchestra, and the music of the first Finnish ethnographic film “A Wedding in Karelia, the Land of Poetry” (1921). Ethnomusicologist Launis was one of the first scholars to research and collect folk music. He was very open-minded; passionately fond of travels, which he undertook alone; and eager to meet other people. He travelled to Lapland (1904, 1905, 1922), Kain