Laila Kinnunen: Pieni sydän (Little heart)

“Little heart“ is a 1939 popular tango composed by Valto Tynnilä (under the pseudonym Walter Rae). Tynnilä (b. 1904) was Finland’s first full-time popular music composer who composed about 150 songs. He also wrote the lyrics to about 30 songs. His main instrument was an Es cornet. He used the mandolin as an aid to composing. Tynnilä was a talented composer and major contributor to Dallapé Orchestra. He created a jazzy sound for Dallapé. According to the orchestra’s website, “In the early years the Dallapé music was influenced by the strong western rhythm and swing music however on the other hand one can hear melancholic Slavonic motives from the east. It is from these east-west elements that Dallapé created its very own swing sound.“ Unfortunately, Valto Tynnilä’s life ended quite early. He disappeared in 1940 in the county of Metsäpirtti, Finland, during Winter War, and declared dead on February 19, 1940. “Little heart&q