My Kantele (Eriskummainen kantele) - Loituma

Eriskummainen kantele/My Kantele by Loituma from their 1998 album Things of Beauty. “The text is from the Kanteletar (1840), a collection of folk poetry made by Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.“ “A kantele is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland. The oldest forms of kantele have 5 or 6 horsehair strings, and the modern concert kantele can have up to 40 strings. In Finland’s national epic, Kalevala, the mage Väinämöinen makes the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant pike and a few hairs from Hiisi’s stallion. The music it makes draws all the forest creatures near to wonder at its beauty.“ Translation by Susan Sinisalo Background image ’The Broken String’ by Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946).