World Music Tradition
KANTELE The Living Tradition.
Exhibition and Conference at Russian Museum of Ethnology.
Saint Petersburg.

May-July 1996.
This exhibition was devoted to kantele. One section included musical instruments from the collection of Russian Museum of Ethnology. There were displayed 11 instruments dated by the 19th and early this century. Another section consisted of the same number of instruments made by V. Maraev and N. Zhoukov in recent years.
Historical part of the exhibition showed objects which were not previously exhibited in this museum. The large work concerning attribution and dating of the collection was made by museum stuff member A. Gadjieva. She found evidences of previous existence of these instruments in famous Dashkov and Rumyantchev collections. This made possible to give more precise dating and places of provenance for many objects. The restoration and conservation of the instruments was made by V. Maraev and N. Zhoukov.
The contemporary part of the exhibition represented works of V. Maraev and N. Zhoukov. They make traditional kantele in the same way these instruments were used to be made for centuries. Bazing on extensive studies of museum collections and literature they produce instruments, using only original tools and raw materials. As a result of their work their are instruments bringing authentic sounds of kantele to the present-day.
During the exhibition there was a two day conference and a performance of traditional music. The conference was opened by Prof. Igor Matzievsky. Later Dr. Karl Rahkonen, Kari Dahlblom, Prof Ain Haas, Aishat Gajieva, V. Maraev and N. Zhoukov presented papers related to the past and present of the kantele tradition.

Ain Hass performing with Kannel he made himself.


Sampa Uimonnen singing runes in pair with his interpreter.

The second day of the conference was featured by the brilliant performance of a "patriarch" of kantele playing, Sampa Uimonnen. He performed both traditional and modern kantele accompanied with singing. Prof Ain Haas played traditional tunes on a kannel he made himself. V. Maraev and N. Zhoukov also demonstrated some properties of sound of their instruments.
Sampa Uimonnen displaying traditional Kantele.

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