Born in Hamburg, Fredrik Pacius was a pupil of Spohr and Hauptmann in Kassel. He made his early career as a violinist, a capacity in which he joined the Swedish Court Orchestra in Stockholm in 1828. In 1834 he became director of music at Helsinki University, working in Finland as a violinist, composer and conductor, and playing an active part in Finnish musical life.

Operas
The first opera of Pacius, Kung Karls jakt (‘The Hunt of King Charles’), with a Swedish text but now often sung in a Finnish translation, was the first such work to be written in Finland. It was followed by the fairy-tale opera Prinsessan av Cypern (‘Princess of Cyprus’) and the two-act Die Loreley.

Vocal and Instrumental Music
Other works by Pacius include songs, notably the patriotic Suomen-laula (‘Song of Finland’) and Vårt land (‘Our Country’), with texts by Runeberg. His instrumental music includes a Violin Concerto, a String Quartet and one movement of a symphony.