ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to apply the latter principle: regions, cultures or ideas of the North can be considered a “liminal zone” able to form a globally relevant springboard for novel and critical ways to articulate environmental concerns in and through music. It seeks to develop this argument further, first, by drawing more extensively on atmosphereological thought; and second, by broadening the focus with a musical analysis that draws attention to ecocritical potential of the debatable “Northern tone” in music. As far as a particularly Northern tone in music exists, it is usually attributed to a compositional whole, musical style, or a general tenor of music, rather than to smaller musical units such as a melody, theme, chord progression or musical motif. The chapter demonstrates the balance Grimley called for through phenomenological-atmosphereological considerations and ecomusicological (over)interpretation of composer Kalevi Aho’s North-related music.
