Barbara Helsingius-Koski
1965.
Personal information
Birth nameBarbara Christina Elisabeth Helsingius
Born27 September 1937
Helsinki, Finland
Died9 March 2017(2017-03-09) (aged 79)[1]
Espoo, Finland[2]
Spouse(s)Henry William Koski; 2 daughters
Sport
SportFencing

Barbara Christina Elisabeth Helsingius-Koski (née Helsingius; 27 September 1937 – 9 March 2017) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish singer, poet, and Olympic fencer.[3]

Career

She participated at the 1960 Summer Olympics in foil fencing.[4] Trained as a gym teacher, she took her master's degree in pedagogy at Stanford University (1963). Interested in American art and folk music, she began to record, and her first release, Barbara (1966), was a collection of American folk songs, translated to Finnish.[3]

She became well known internationally, and was a member of Visens venner in Norway, of Visans Vänner in Helsinki, and Yrkestrubadurernas Förening in Sweden, part of the Svenska visakademien (1999; its only Finn),[5] and the joint Nordic cultural organisation NordVisa.

From 1968 to 1975, she lived in Oslo with her husband, Henry William "Hank" Koski, a diplomat at the U.S. embassy. She was the mother of two daughters. Her family lives in Espoo, Finland.[3]

Death

Helsingius died following a long illness on 9 March 2017 in Espoo, Finland at the age of 79.[6]

Prizes

  • Hambestipendiet, Sweden (1989)
  • Norsk-finsk kulturpris (1993)
  • Nils Ferlin-prisen, (Sweden; 1994)
  • Trubadurprisen (1994)
  • NordVisa-statuetten ("Liv"; 1995)
  • Pro Cultura, Espoo, Finland (1995)

Books

  • Vill du visor min vän? ISBN 9789515001726
  • Kanske en visa (Schildts) ISBN 9789515004727
  • Eino Leino, sångarens visa, poetry collection
  • Songs Finland Sings, Warner/Chappel Music Finland (2000) OCLC 53063325

Discography

  • Barbara (1966; American folk songs in Finnish)
  • Det var en gång (1977; own songs)
  • Olipa kerran (1978; Finnish version of the above)
  • Speiling (1981; Finnish songs in Norwegian)
  • Barbaras blandade (1981; own songs)
  • Kahlaajatyttö (1982; musical settings of the Finnish poets Aale Tynni and Aila Meriluoto)
  • Fra Barbara med kjærlighet (1982; Finnish songs in Norwegian)
  • Reflection. Songs from Finland (1984; Finnish songs in English)
  • Drøm og bekjennelse (1986; her own and Finnish songs in Norwegian)
  • Spegling (1986; Finnish-Swedish songs)
  • Rakkaudella (1986; Finnish version of above)
  • Tuulen niityillä (1992; Nordic songs in Finnish)
  • Sånt är vårt liv (1996; own and Finnish songs in Swedish)
  • Songs Finland Sings (2002; double CD of Finnish poems and songs, classics and songs which she translated to English. Contains 30 artists, including the Serena choir)

References

  1. ↑ Gustafsson, Lars: Barbara Helsingius har dött – vi minns den mörka altrösten, yle.fi, 9 March 2017. (in Swedish)
  2. ↑ Death notice, in Helsingin Sanomat, 8 April 2017, p. C 20.
  3. 1 2 3 Helsingius, Barbara. Biografiskt lexikon för Finland. Accessed 10 March 2017. (in Swedish)
  4. ↑ Barbara Helsingius at sports-reference.com. Accessed 10 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Helsingius, Barbara in Uppslagsverket Finland. Accessed 25 March 2017. (in Swedish)
  6. ↑ "Laulaja Barbara Helsingius on kuollut" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
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