The idea of malinconia in the 19th c. covered a myriad of romantic notions, so to simply translate it as "melancholy" does the term injustice. It subsumes many other emotional states as well - dejection, gloom, unknown sadness, desperation, depression and even frustration. Each language has evolved its own terms, and interpretations differ from region to region. Malinconia in sunny Italy or Spain is quite different from melancholy in Norway and in Finland, with their long, harsh winters. The Nordic variant is expressed here in various musical examples; words alone are anyway inadequate.
