The kantele hath come to Carleton!
Hoorah!
But what ever is a kantele, you might say! Why, it looks like harp, distressed and fallen on its side, you may jest!
In truth, it’s a traditional Finnish musical instrument, related to the zither.
Callooh Callay!
Guest artist Eva Alkula, who hails from Finland, played a repertoire of pieces on this exotic instrument at Carleton last week. Alkula is one of the leading kantele artists in her native country and has introduced her musical stylings to audiences in the United States, Europe, and Japan. She also snagged first place in the National Kantele Competition for soloists in 2003. What's more, a Wikipedia article on the kantele names her as a leading artist!
Alkula played a variety of pieces ranging from traditional Finnish folk music to new compositions, including some originally written for the piano. The “Schottisch from Ostrobothnia” was by the famous Finnish composer Tovio Kuula, while “Magnolia” was written by Carleton’s new music professor in residence, Alex Freeman.
In sound, the kantele rings somewhere between a harp and a piano. The music is very soothing, heightened by the graceful arm movements Alkula makes when she plucks the strings, like a seaweed. At the concert she was working with a 31-string concert kantele, though she also experiments with the newly-invented electric kantele.
Her concert was sponsored by the Christopher U. Light lectureship. Christopher U. Light is a class of 1958 Carleton alumnus who set up lecture funds in arts, music, and literature in order to promote these pursuits at Carleton.
