Arja Kastinen

Visiting researcher, Folk Music Department. Researching the Finnish-Karelian kantele improvisation of the runosong culture, its various manifestations in its original context, and its possibilities and dimensions in this era. The subject includes instrument, melody, culture, and historical research as well as improvisation research. Instrument research includes research of the special features of historical small kanteles: what is the effect of the structure and materials in different individual instruments on the tone, tuning level, playing technique, and through them on the music itself? The change in music culture is visible in the change in the structure of kantele instruments, from a monoxyle kantele to a diverse family of large kanteles. With the help of museum kantele replicas, it is possible to approach old instruments and the music produced with them in ways reminiscent of experimental archaeology. Music research includes not only the research and use of runosong melodies and their variations on kanteles but also the study of kantele tunes recorded at the turn of the 20th century. Although a large part of the recorded songs already represents a newer layer of music, the way the old players played them is connected to the musical aesthetics of the runosong culture and thus opens up perspectives on the past. Cultural and historical research includes connecting the hollow kantele and its use to the world of illiterate folk hundreds of years back. What was the significance of the instrument and music in that culture? How did it manifest itself in everyday life? What was the influence of the people of the surrounding cultures on the transformation of the music? The archival material at our disposal limits the tradition under study to the residential areas of the Orthodox Karelians in the 19th century. Therefore, cultural and historical research mainly focuses on their tradition. The study of aesthetics influences almost all aspects of this research. The aesthetics of small kantele improvisation in the runosong culture is special and in many respects different from current general musical practices. Through its philosophy, the question is approached: how to create favorable conditions for an open and curious mind that enables creative improvisation? One of the goals of the project is to develop ways to study the dialogue that takes place within musical improvisation, which can be not only communication between individuals but also communication within an individual.

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