In one of the schools in the Finnish region of Uusimaa, a baroque music concert was canceled to avoid possible offenses to the feelings of non-believers. This was reported by the Helsingin Sanomat portal.
The Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir were scheduled to perform in front of the students, who would perform the oratorio “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The main part of the oratorio libretto is taken from the Old Testament, the first part is based on the book of the prophet Isaiah. There are also quotes from the Gospel and the Psalms, as well as the Book of Job. However, just a couple of days before the performance, the school canceled the concert.
The school gave no reason for canceling the concert.
“We want to continue to offer arts experiences to children, but we also want to follow the guidelines of the Board of Education.” – indicated only the address of the educational institution.
The concert organizers themselves contacted the school and said that the performance contained religious references. In accordance with Board of Education guidelines, where appropriate, the school should offer non-religious students cultural offerings of similar caliber.
“The director decided that he would not have time to contact all the guardians in a couple of days and organize a replacement program for those who did not want to participate in the concert.” – says the publication.
Head of the Finnish Ministry of Education Anders Adlerkreuz told the publication that he believed the school overinterpreted the Board of Education’s recommendations.
“Yes, it is very strange, but I understand that the school does not want to run the risk of some parent starting to demand compensation for introducing their children to Christian values.” – noted the executive director of the baroque orchestra Laura Cajander.
At the same time, he believes that this issue should be resolved at the public level.
“It becomes very difficult to perform beautiful baroque music if you want to exclude any reference to religion, because the majority of the baroque repertoire contains religious references due to the context of the time of composition,” – he added.
Minister of Social Welfare Sunny Gran-Laasonen I am sure that “this hypersensitivity does not protect rights, but it limits opportunities.”
The publication notes that the reason for the cancellation of the concerts could have been an incident in the city of Hämeenlinna. In 2022, the concert for primary school children included religious songs, the themes of which included, among others, death, crucifixion and the atonement of sins through Christianity. One of the parents filed a lawsuit and the city is now recommended to pay compensation of 1.5 thousand euros.
