Kantele

Koistinen concert kantele with 38 strings

A kantele ([ˈkɑntele], from Finnish) or kannel ([ˈkɑnːel], Finnish variant or from Estonian) is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic Psalteries.

History

Finnish storyteller with a traditional kantele.

Scholars debate how old an instrument the kantele is, with its age variously estimated from 1,000 to 2,000 years. It has a strong connection with the ancient art of rune singing.

Its mythical origins are described in Finland's national epic, Kalevala, where the magician Väinämöinen creates the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant pike and a few hairs from Hiisi's (the Devil's) gelding. The music it makes draws all the forest creatures near to wonder at its beauty. The kantele has a distinctive bell-like sound. Later Väinämöinen makes a wooden kantele, strung with the hair of a willing maiden, and its magic proves equally profound. It is the gift the eternal sage leaves behind when he departs Kaleva at the advent of Christianity.

Description

The oldest forms of kantele have 5 or 6 horsehair strings and a hollowed out wooden body carved from a piece of alder, pine or spruce. Modern instruments have metal strings, tuning pegs and often a body made from several pieces of wood. Modern concert kanteles can have up to 39 strings. Modern instruments with less than 15 strings are generally more closely modelled on traditional shapes than the concert kantele, and form a separate category of instrument known as "small kantele."

The playing positions of the concert kantele and small kantele are reversed. To the player of a small kantele, the longest low-pitched strings are furthest away from his body, while to a concert kantele player, this side of the instrument is nearest and the short high-pitched strings are the furthest away.

The Finnish kantele generally has a diatonic tuning, although small kantele with between 5 and 15 strings are often tuned to a gapped mode, missing a seventh and with the lowest-pitched strings tuned to a fourth below the tonic as a drone. The Estonian kannel has a variety of traditional tunings. Concert versions have a switch mechanism (similar to semitone levers on a modern folk harp) for making sharps and flats. Players hold the kantele on their laps or on a small table. There are two main techniques to play, either plucking the strings with the fingers or strumming unstopped strings.

Recent Developments

There has been a strong resurgence of interest in playing the kantele in Finland. Lessons for playing the instrument are available in schools and music institutes up to conservatories and the Sibelius Academy, the only music university in Finland. Artistic doctoral studies are being made at the Academy with traditional, western classical and electronic music. New and orignal music for the kantele has been created by contemporary Finnish composers.

A Finnish instrument maker, Koistinen, has developed an electric kantele [1], which employs pick-ups similar as those on electric guitars. It has gained popularity amongst Finnish heavy metal artists. Another invention is a modern small kantele equipped with a strap, which can be played while standing, allowing a degree of mobility and stage presence not known previously.

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References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• De Gorog, Lisa From Sibelius to Sallinen: Finnish Nationalism and the Music of Finland (Contributions to the Study of Music and Dance) Greenwood Press (December 6, 1989), ISBN 0313267405, ISBN 0313267406

• Ramnarine, Tina K. Ilmatar's Inspirations: Nationalism, Globalization, and the Changing Soundscapes of Finnish Folk Music (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology) University Of Chicago Press; New Ed edition (August 1, 2003) ISBN 0226704033, ISBN 0226704036

• Hillila, Ruth-Esther, Blanchard Hong, Barbara, Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland Greenwood Press (December 30, 1997), ISBN 0313277281, ISBN 0313277283

External links

• Online version of Carl Rahkonen's doctoral dissertation on the Finnish Kantele
• Virtual Finland: Kantele
• Sibelius Academy
• Finnish Kantele artist Timo Väänänen
• Experimental electric kantele group "Memnon"
• Finnish "Kantele metal" artist "Nostatus"
• Finnish ethnic metal band "Poropetra" has its core in kantele
• Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum use Kantele often.
• Finnish nature-wave band Nest
• Kantele Making
• The Kantele shop(USA).
• Kantele music
• Koistinen Kantele - a finnish kantele developer
• 3 Rivers Kanteles kantele group
• Nest

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