Johan Fridolf Hagfors (11 March 1857 – 18 August 1931) was a Finnish newspaper publisher, music critic and composer, most known for having composed the two songs '' Modersmålets sång'' (The

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

's song) and ''

Ålänningens sång "" () is the official regional anthem of Åland, an autonomous Swedish language, Swedish-speaking province of Finland. Adopted in 1922, the anthem's lyrics were written by John Grandell, and the music was composed by Johan Fridolf Hagfors. The s ...

'' (Song of the Ålender). Born in

Orimattila Orimattila () is a town in Päijänne Tavastia regions of Finland, region, Finland. The southern part of Lahti is connected to the village of Pennala, which is located in the northern part of the Orimattila municipality. Its neighboring municipali ...

, he got a Cand.phil degree in 1881. In 1883, he became publicist of the small

Åbo Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...

paper ''Turun Lehti'' which was published in Finnish but at the same time

Svecoman The Svecoman (, , ) movement was a Suecophile or pro- Swedish nationalist movement that arose in the Grand Duchy of Finland at the end of the 19th century chiefly as a reaction to the demands for increased use of Finnish vigorously presented by ...

; it became the only newspaper with that combination to reach a wide readership. He also worked as a teacher in Åbo.Johan Fridolf Hagfors

Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

. Ugglaupplagen, supplement (1924) He composed several songs for male quartets. '' Modersmålets sång'' was first performed in 1889 and is today considered an unofficial hymn for the

Swedish-speaking population of Finland The Swedish-speaking population of Finland (whose members are called by many names—see below; ; ) is a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are seen either as a separate cultural, ethnic or linguistic group or ...

.Hagfors, Fridolf

Uppslagsverket Finland ''Uppslagsverket Finland'' ('Encyclopedia Finland') is a Swedish-language encyclopedia with a focus on Finland and in particular Finland-Swedish subjects. The encyclopedia is published by initiative of an association dedicated to this task, ( ...

. Retrieved 7 November 2014 ''

'', for which he composed the melody, was first performed during the song festival in

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

in 1922 and is today the regional hymn for

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

. In 1912, he became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

. Due to stiff competition, ''Turun Lehti'' ceased publication in 1919. Hagfors subsequently moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and obtained Swedish citizenship. He died in 1931. Fellow composer Erik August Hagfors was his half-brother.

Publications

* ''Förgätmigej'' (1879) * ''Ann Mari'' (1897) * ''Beatrici Canci'' (1902) * ''En versbok'' (1918)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagfors, Johan Fridolf 1857 births 1931 deaths Finnish composers Finnish male composers Finnish publishers (people) Swedish-speaking Finns National anthem writers