Songs of the Midnight Sun
Martti, Marjatta & Eveliina Pokela
A: Songs from Lapland
B: Folk music
"A Finnish riddle asks 'What is born in the woods, grows in the home, stands on the wall and sings on the knee?' The right answer, of course, is the kantele. The 5-stringed 'Väinämöinen kantele' is essentially associated with the traditions of Finnish folk music. It is a simple instrument to be plucked with the fingers, and has been played among people of Finnish stock living along the coasts of the Baltic and the Gulf of Finland. According to research, it is about 2000 years old. The 5-stringed kantele has been used to play rune, song and dance melodies, but the ancient Finns used the instrument also for rune-song accompaniment and for improvisations. The charming tones of this outwardly modest little instrument created a rare atmosphere in the smoke cabins where runic melodies from the Kalevala were still being sung as recently as last century."
SFLP 8500, 1969
Seitsemän auringon yöThe Night of the Seven Suns
Matti A. Pitkänen, Airi Hast, Rauno Ruotsinsalo
Weilin+Göös 1966
