The aim of my dissertation is to examine the incorporation of German poetry into Finnish music. The study also has a cross-cultural dimension as the tradition of Finnish songs set to German poetry is one manifestation of German-Finnish cultural relationships. Although these relationships are nowadays subject to extensive study, the topic of this research had not been studied before. The songs I chose to analyse had not been thoroughly researched, either. A semiotic research method provides a uniform set of concepts for the study of poetry and music. It proved important for the analysis to examine the language of poetry and music as systems of artistic meanings. A semiotic set of concepts was also helpful in defining the national and national-romantic tone languages, which is integral to this study. The historical part of the study aims to provide answers to questions about the background and extent of the phenomenon, the choosing of poets and poetry, and the reasons behind these choices. 19th century composers mainly chose poets who were active at that time in the German Lieder tradition. Having poems available in Finnish and Swedish translations has had an influence in the choice of lyrics. In the late 20th century, the composers’ personal knowledge of poetry became more important. The composers’ personal relationship to the German language and literature was an important factor in selecting song lyrics. The focus of the analysis part, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s songs set to texts by R.M. Rilke, arises from the historical research. Thematic material, a visual aspect, and the thematic-visual equivalence relationships between poems and musical events are the key issues of the analysis. The analysis focuses on motivic relationships, harmony and form. The semiotic analytical approach allows for the examining of structural analogies between text and music. I am using Charles S. Peirce’s signs in relation to object, and Umberto Eco’s terms „cultural unit” and „unlimited semiosis” to examine processes both within the poem as well as between the poem and the music. In his Rilke songs, Ej. Rautavaara emphasises the visual aspect and the abstractive potential of the poems. The importance of the visual element comes across in the Rilke songs of Paavo Heininen and Jouni Kaipainen as well. This quality seems to be an important factor in the popularity of Rilke’s poems as song lyrics. The abstract nature of his later poetry, where there is no clear articulation of every meaning, is itself getting close to music, yet giving space for the composer’s intuitions. The analysis suggests that the discourse between text and music can operate on a structural level in a parallel way. A competent composer finds balance between text and music whilst taking into account the inner conformities of music. Rautavaara’s choices of text strengthen his artistic profile both as an intuitive mystic and romantic, and also as an intellectual and analytical modernist. The era of German Lieder tradition is not yet over in Finland, nor is the chamber music oriented tradition in art song.