For this New Sounds, we’re at the Norwegian-Finnish border, with musicians who are either or both Finnish and Norwegian, and music which involves the Finnish folk-harp, the kantele (which is held in a player’s lap or on a small table.) Hear music from composer, singer and master of the kantele, Sinikka Langeland, who is half Finnish, and half Norwegian. Her most recent record, “The half-finished heaven,” is a collaboration with sax player/composer Trygve Seim, classical viola player Lars Anders Tomter and percussionist Markku Ounaskari, featuring settings of verse by Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer. However, the tune we’ll hear, “Caw of the crane,” is a melody-filled conversation between viola and kantele, punctuated by percussion.
There’s also music from American percussionist Jeanette Wrate (Kangas), (who has both Finnish and Norwegian roots) from her recording, “Echoes of a Northern Sky” where Finnish folk music meets jazz. Then, from Norwegian sax player Jan Garbarek, listen to Norway’s wind and the sound of the Fjords turned into music by way of wood flute and wind harp, (or æolian harp.) Also, listen to music from English musician Andrew Cronshaw's cross-cultural collaboration, "The Unbroken Surface of Snow," at times an unlikely combination of kantele and duduk. Plus, music from Finnish singer Sanna Kurki-Suonio and more.
PROGRAM #3743– Crossing the Norwegian-Finnish Border (First aired on 06/25/2015)
ARTIST(S)
RECORDING
CUT(S)
SOURCE
Sinikka Langeland
The half-finished heaven
Caw of the crane, excerpt [1:30]
ECM 2377www.ecmrecords.com
Jan Garbarek
Dis
Dis [7:44]
ECM 1093www.ecmrecords.com
Sinikka Langeland
The half-finished heaven
Caw of the crane [5:41]
ECM 2377www.ecmrecords.com
Jan Garbarek & Agnes Buen Garnås
Rosensfole
Margjit og Targjei Risvollo [12:37]
ECM 1402www.ecmrecords.com
Jeanette Wrate & Northern Lights
Echoes of a Northern Sky
Voice, Gong and Kantele Interlude [3:06]
Cryptogrammphone
cryptogramophone.com
Various artists: Sanna Kurki-Suonio
Northern Nights - Music From the top of the World
Minne (Where) [4:46]
Six Degrees Records 657036Out of print, but try Amazon.com
Andrew Cronshaw
The Unbroken Surface of Snow
Im Hogutz, excerpt [7:12]
CV 2009www.cloudvalley.comandrewcronshaw.com