The Centennial Of Tove Jansson, Finnish Author & Visual Artist, Celebrated by Moomin Voices

The Moomin Voices project, by composer and arranger Mika Pohjola and vocalist Johanna Grüssner, celebrates Tove Jansson's centennial on August 9th, 2014.

The Moomin Voices project was founded after Ms. Jansson passed away in 2001, as there was no complete album ever released with the entire Moomin song catalog. The original Moomin songs were written for theater plays and TV series in Scandinavia in the late 1950s, 60s and 70s by songwriter and pianist Erna Tauro (1916-2003). The first six Moomin Songs (Sex muminvisor) were: Moomintroll's Song (Mumintrollets visa), Little My's Song (Lilla Mys visa), Mrs. Fillyjonk's Song (Fru Filifjonks sång), Theater Rat Emma's Words of Wisdom (Teaterråttan Emmas visdomsord), Misabel's Lament (Misans klagolåt) and Final Song (Slutsång). Further songs were written for Moomin dramas for SVT, Swedish Television (Sveriges Television).

Pohjola collected and arranged all songs as a tribute to Jansson after her passing. The Swedish version of Moomin Voices, featuring Grüssner as a solo and choir vocalist, was released in 2002. A Finnish version, featuring vocalists Mirja Mäkelä and Eeppi Ursin was released in 2004. The Finnish lyrics were translated by Kirsi Kunnas and Vexi Salmi.

Tove Jansson (9 August 1914 - 27 June 2001) was a Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She was the author of, among other works, the eight Moomin books. "It is these eight novels which the Moomin Voices albums are based on," says Pohjola. Pohjola additionally composed seven songs, whose lyrics Jansson wrote late in her life, after Tauro's passing.

The Moomin Voices releases are used as course material at the Boston-based Berklee College of Music.