Tove and Her Music
A new, intimate glimpse into the life of Tove Jansson, uncovering the songs that inspired the artist and those which she composed herself, from Moomin melodies to hidden love song lyrics.
Music played a significant role in Tove Jansson’s life. A multi-talented artist rebel with many strings to her bow, she lived according to her own words: “paint paint paint lill girl, remember that nothing stands still, always you shall wander.” Singer and actor Emma Klingenberg, who has toured with the concert Tove Jansson - The Songwriter and researched the musical themes in Tove’s work, has now compiled her golden finds.
Klingenberg writes engagingly about the music Tove danced to in her studio and on her island of Klovharu, and delving deep into Tove’s and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä’s extensive cassette collection. Tove’s own lyrics are also collected here. Many relationships in Tove’s life influenced her songwriting, not least her stormy love affair with theatre director Vivica Bandler, which resulted in the secret collection Songs for My Woman and the bold The Big Mymble Song.
Tove and Her Music is a collection of over sixty original song lyrics and includes everything from Moomin songs to the beloved ‘Autumn Song’, illustrated throughout with unique material in the form of diary sketches, photographs and handwritten documents.
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Reviews
“4/5 stars: With research that has not been compiled before, Klingenberg shows with both sharpness and playfulness how music has characterised Tove Jansson's life and her creativity.”
“Tuulikki Pietilä's cassette recordings from the couple's everyday life are a fantastic archival find.”
“What a research project, what a cultural endeavour Emma Klingenberg has done!”
“A great gift to, not to say a blessing for, all of us Tove Jansson fans.”
“Klingenberg depicts an interesting view of Tove Jansson's surrounding soundscape.”
“...a kind of alternative biography, personalised and lovingly written.”
