Laila Kinnunen: Kesäyö (Summer Night) [Summertime, by Gershwin]

“Summer Night“ is an adaptation of George Gershwin’s “Summertime“. Laila Kinnunen’s gorgeous version is a soundtrack for the Finnish TV programme “Kuukauden suositut“ (Favourites of the Month) in circa 1965. Its brilliant, poetic Finnish lyrics were written by Saukki (pen name of Sauvo Puhtila), and the excellent arrangement was written by Erkki Melakoski. The fine translation into English was made by Jill G. Timbers in 2015. “Kesäyö“, alkujaan “Summertime“, on tunnettu laulu George Gershwinin säveltämästä “folk-oopperasta“ Porgy ja Bess. Laila Kinnusen esittämä ja Saukin sanoittama upea versio tehtiin televisioon “Kuukauden suositut“ -ohjelmaan noin v. 1965. Loistavan sovituksen oli laatinut Erkki Melakoski. Hienon käännöksen englanniksi teki Jill G. Timbers v. 2015. * * * * * LAILA KINNUNEN (1939–2000) was an exceptionally skilled and versatile Finnish singer. Kinnunen was just 15 when she won a singing contest intended for adults with George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Birdland“. In 1957, at age 17, she successfully recorded her first song, an Italian “Lazzarella“ in Finnish. Kinnunen mastered a wide range of popular music from American jazz and pop songs to Russian waltzes, and from Latin rhythms to Finnish tangos. She performed and recorded songs in more than 10 languages, including at least Finnish, Swedish (learned as a child evacuee in Sweden during WWII), English, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Afrikaans, Hebrew, Japanese and Danish. She used many of them easily or perfectly. Whenever Kinnunen started singing in a language that was not familiar to her (such as Russian and Hungarian), she had a language teacher. In the 1960s, Laila Kinnunen worked internationally, appearing in many TV programmes and performing in nightclubs all over Europe, such as Cannes, Leipzig, East and West Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Munich, Rostock, Sopot, Brussels, Zürich, Bucharest, Bratislava, Lisbon, Madrid and Granada. In her homeland, she also performed in many floor shows and played several roles in musicals and operettas, including the hilarious role of the Argentine dancer Tangolita in Paul Abraham’s 1932 jazz operetta “Ball im Savoy“ (Ball at the Savoy), and the leading role of Maisie in Sandy Wilson’s “The Boy Friend“. However, Kinnunen’s intensive and unique singing career ended early, at about age 30, due to her personal problems. During her short career she recorded 160 songs with various record companies, and many hundreds of soundtracks for television and movies. SAUVO PUHTILA (b. 1928) is one of the most eminent post-war lyricists today. His life’s work as a lyricist has been singularly complex and broad-ranging. Although he has produced a huge number of original lyrics, Puhtila is even better known and more esteemed for his adaptations, which his knowledge of languages has allowed him to produce from the originals written in various languages. He has adapted lyrics for operas, operettas, musicals, choir songs, solos, various hits, pop and rock songs and ditties, as well as gospel, Christmas, children’s and folk songs. Puhtila’s extensive production of original lyrics includes, for example, hits, ditties, songs for various representatives of Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest and songs for musicals, films, choirs, children and church services. His career extends from the 1950s to the 80s, and we can safely assume that Puhtila is the most productive lyricist in Finland, with the largest body of work and the broadest spectrum of genres. More than 2,500 of his lyrics have been released on disc, while the number of his individual lyrics is roughly double that. [He himself reported that he had written the lyrics to over 6,000 songs.] Sauvo Puhtila has always been – and continues to be today – highly regarded and respected among both experts and colleagues due to his superior technique and rich expression, as well as his unique style, which permeates his work throughout. (This article about Sauvo Puhtila is part of a wider article titled “Sauvo Puhtila receives Honorary Award for a life’s work“, and was published in issue 3/2002 of the Selvis magazine. – English translation of the article: Taina Pemberton, 2017) LYRICS Kesäyö Kesäyö tuoksut tuhlaten antaa, ruusun lehteen kaste helmiään luo. Varjo utuinen öisen linnun pois kantaa, jo vaieten tuuli laulun tuo. On aamuun aikaa, käy tanssi varjojen hiljaa, kunnes heräämään aamu kukkaset saa. On vielä aikaa lammen kuultavaan pintaan yön kesäisen toiveet heijastaa. By Saukki ==== Summer Night The summer night serves up an extravagance of fragrances, dew casts its pearls on the rose petal. Misty shadow bears away the night bird, as the wind carries back its ever fainter song. There’s still time till morning, shadows dance quietly till the morning wakes the little flowers. There’s still time to mirror the night’s summer dreams on the limpid surface of the pond. By Saukki English translation: Jill G. Timbers