I was very pleased to note this afternoon that my dear friend in Northfield MN, Alex Freeman, has launched his own website. The site contains everything you'll ever need to know about Alex who, as a composer, singer-songwriter, tenor, bass trombonist and, latterly, assistant professor of music at Carleton College, is without a doubt one of the most multitalented people I am honoured in knowing.
Much as, on a recent visit to London, I tortured myself by reading the concert listings at the South Bank, leaving myself hopelessly salivating over all the wonderful concerts I wouldn't be able to attend, Alex's site features tantalising news of upcoming events and performances of his work. If you happen to be in Northfield on February 8th you're in for a treat. For anyone outside Finland, the performance of Magnolia for kantele, a Finnish harp-like instrument, promises to be quite an event.
But for those of us who can't make it, hope comes in the form of mp3 downloads of some of Alex's recent work, including three of the Four Songs of Hellaakoski performed by the HOL choir, a group that has championed music by Alex and Canadian composer Matthew Whittall, under the direction of Esko Kallio. You can also listen to (though not download) a number of other pieces, including O Magnum Mysterium, a choral work that I had the pleasure of singing in December. Though the loud sneeze during the quiet section is annoying, the performance is great. This music makes me weep.
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3 comments:
Hi David!
Kantele is actually nearer the "zither" family of instruments than harp. For example, kantele does not have a soundboard nor it is played upright. Both these definitions are important to be classified as a harp instrument.
The kantele does have some common things with the harps, however; the tuning mechanism in modern concert kanteles is quite akin to the one in pedal harps. But this machinery is operated with hand(s) in kantele and with feet in harp.
Hi Kari, and thanks for taking the time to comment!
I suppose I think of the kantele as "harp-like" in that, from a compositional point of view, it presents the same challenges (restrictions) as the harp: namely, the strings are diatonically arranged and adjusted with pegs that function in almost exactly the same way as the pedals of a harp. In this respect, the Estonian kannel is at a great advantage, having four or five octaves of chromatic strings – you can even play Bach!
As far as I've understood, kantele fingering technique is also fairly similar to that on a harp, and it's not entirely unheard-of for someone to specialise in both these instruments. Of course, to look at a kantele you're right, it does have far more in common with the zither and the cimbalom.
Thanks again for writing about my little corner of the internet here! I have just added a brief account of the weekend (part 1) and will upload some sound files from the live performances, all of which were strong. A few minor mishaps--a broken kantele string and a broken chin rest, but the show went on and pretty well. Hope you are well, buddy!
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