Finnisma Di / La soledad (Finnism in Loneliness)- Pink Martini ft. Ari Shapiro | Live from Wolf Trap - 2021

Recorded at Pink Martini's live appearance at Wolf Trap in August 2021, a week after the band began touring again after the long pandemic hiatus. "Finnisma Di" is an original song from Pink Martini's 2016 album "Je dis oui!," featuring our friend, NPR's Ari Shapiro, on vocals. The song was originally written as "La soledad," by bandleader Thomas Lauderdale and singer Pepe Luque, and heard on the band's debut album "Sympathique."

In 2016, our friend Iyad Qasem created new lyrics in Arabic for "La soledad." Iyad's lyrics beautifully explore the nostalgic sentiment of homesickness from an immigrant's perspective. Thomas Lauderdale opens the song on piano with an excerpt from Chopin's Andante Spianato, Op. 22.