Heinonen, Ilkka : Käki CD

EAN 6418691218729

The new solo album Käki by jouhikko master Ilkka Heinonen is dedicated to the jouhikko (Finnish/

Karelian/ Estonian bowed lyre) – its rough and primal, fragile and sincere sound. The album features a

wide range of different types of jouhikkos; modern, newly developed instruments as well as museum

instrument replicas in a variety of tunings, equipped with gut, horsehair and nylon strings, showcasing

the diverse sound of the jouhikko. The album is also a tribute to the Karelian jouhikko players of the

past and their music. Their tunes are fused on the recording with the spiritual melodies that flowed into

Karelia from the East and West, as well as with echoes of Renaissance and early Baroque

instrumental music.

For centuries, Karelia has had its own unique, restless position between Eastern and Western cultures.

The songs on the album draw from the aesthetics and repertoire of the Karelian jouhikko players born

in the middle of the 19th century, whose tunes were largely regional dance music of the time. The

tradition of the jouhikko players is combined with the ecclesiastical music cultures that have alternated

in Karelia for almost a thousand years, with shades of Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox cultures. The

songs on the album are also strongly influenced by the sound of the viola da gamba and its music.

Although the jouhikko and the viola da gamba are not closely related in terms of organology, there are

surprising similarities in the playing techniques and musical aesthetics of the two instruments.