Kantele Workshop

That’s such an amazing, breathtaking instrument – kantele. Ancient. Mysterious. It seems that kantele keeps a mystery deep inside. It charms by its magic lyrical sounds and opens the secrets of the Creation…
Let’s recall the famous Karelian-Finnish epos “Kalevala” where the process of kantele creation is described (runes 40-41). According to the legend, the first instrument was made by wise Vainamoinen from his teeth, jaws and the ribs of a gigantic pike. He made the next instrument from “svilevata” birch (Karelian birch as we would say now). The contemporary kantele is made from fir and alder. But… tsssss, we won’t reveal the professional secrets of masters, will we? Each master has an individual technology and own preferences.

There is one wonderful place in the Kantele House - the place where new kanteles are produced. That’s a workshop which was formed in 1989. In 2004 it was rewarded with the grant of the President of the Russian Federation.

At the present time it’s equipped with modern German machines that allow us to improve the quality of instruments and to make them in a higher technological way.

For more than a second decade, kantele master has been trying hard to make kanteles. All the musical instruments of the Kantele ensemble went through his arms – he restored and improved them, recreated old traditional instruments and worked at its modern versions. In the Kantele Instrument Workshop not only kanteles are created but also many other Karelian instruments such as jouhikko, talharpa, virsikannel, Veps psaltery… In addition, we make and restore musical instruments to order – both to private orders and from organizations. If you are interested in this kind of stuff, you’re welcome!

Do you imagine how they used to make kanteles before? The base of a future kantele was made from a piece of wood. Then a sounding board (a resonator) with a special hole was put on the base. The sounding board was glued or set on nails (sometimes it was just tied to the base with a bast). Then a set of strings was put on the kantele.
Today the wooden base of the kantele is just made to keep the authentic process of the instrument creation. In other cases, the base is glued from separate pieces. A sounding-board and a bottom are attached and only then strings are put on the kantele.

Anyone can learn to play the kantele. Especially for beginners, the Kantele Instrument Worksop produces a pocket sounding kantele. Such instrument can be a wonderful souvenir – that’s why you can meet it in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities and towns of our country as well as abroad – in Finland, Germany, the USA, Japan… Nevertheless, it’s not just a souvenir but a real kantele! You can even play simple melodies or accompany your own singing. A book for self-instruction is added to the instrument in order to give you a helping hand in learning to play your first kantele.

To create a musical instrument is a very difficult and delicate task, isn’t it? Each instrument is made by hand and requires an individual approach. Together with work and talent master puts a lot of soul into it. Because without a talent it’s impossible to bring life to an instrument, to make it sound!

The master – Alexander Frolov – makes kanteles sound!



The Karelian Song- and Dance Ensemble “KANTELE”
K.Marx Av. 6, Petrozavodsk 185035 Karelia Russia
E-mail: kantele@onego.ru
Internet: www.kantele.ru

Director of ensemble — Lilia Stepanova
Tel. +7 (814-2) 78-43-69

Head of Traditional Instruments’ Workshop — Alexander Frolov
Tel. +7 (814-2) 78-07-97