A’CHORDING TO KANTELE, a Finnish lap harp ensemble, will play a free concert in Lisbon on Saturday. Members are, from left, back row: Lorraine Piirainen of West Paris, Lin Gordon of Freeport, Chris Frazier of Lisbon Falls, Deborah Crump of West Paris, Barbara Honkala of Bethel and Sally Riman of Harrison; and, front row: Janet Gardner of Otisfield, Martha Wilson of Lovell, Kathy Cummings of South Paris and Irene Rochwarg of Yarmouth.
The free concert includes complementary coffee and desserts.
“St. Matthew’s is offering Mid-Coast Maine an opportunity to celebrate Christ’s birth with Finnish and traditional carols,” said the Rev. W. Beau Wagner, rector of the church.
“The kantele is a traditional
Finnish lap harp with a 2,000-year history rooted in the folklore of the ‘Kalevala,’ the national epic of Finland,” a release about the show states. “Finns consider it an important symbol of their culture and it is played in their schools, universities and concert halls.”
The concert will hear six different types of kanteles: 10- , 11- and 15- stringed ones, along with 11 +4 strings, 15 + 4 strings, and 38 string concert kanteles.
The group began in November 2000 when a group of 30 people met in the basement of a local Lutheran Church to learn how to play “Ode to Joy” on the kantele. The kantele players became a performing group known as The Maine Kanteles. A’chording to Kantele is part of The Maine Kanteles.
Their sacred music includes such familiar tunes as “Amazing Grace” and “Simple Gifts.” However, they also perform Finnish pieces such as “ Konevitsankirkonkellot,” which means church bells of the Konevitsa monastery ( an Eastern Orthodox church).
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