Aallotar: Women's voices in Finnish acapella Enkelit
Event details
The strength of the Finnish acapella choral music tradition has strong roots in the Kalevala, the collection of epic folk poems compiled, edited and published in 1835 by Elias Lönnrot, and often referred to as the Finnish national epic. It was followed by a collection of hundreds of folk songs, the Kanteletar, often seen as the ‘sister’ to the Kalevala. Both of these works have made waves within Finnish culture and the arts since the 1800s.
In their musical talk Allotar (translation: ‘spirit of the waves’ or ‘water nymph’), Enkelit (translation: ‘angels’) discuss the important role of women’s voices in Lönnrot's collection of these folk poems, as well as examining the poems’ content and singing some of the songs, tracing those waves to modern times. Finnish women composers continue to be inspired by these epic but everyday poems, giving women such as those in Enkelit the opportunity to share songs of hope, defiance, despair and happiness that delve deeply into the fullness of women’s lived experiences. This then, despite the linguistic challenges, allows women singers of this repertoire the unusual chance to bring their whole selves, body, mind and voice, to the process of choral singing, in a way that makes waves and reverberates through and beyond the singing group.
This event is hosted by the Centre for Language and Social Justice Research at York St John University.
About the performers
Enkelit is a small, upper-voice choir concentrating on the beautiful acapella music of Finland. The group was founded in 2003 by Richard Pomfret and took its name from one of the pieces of music that had inspired him to create the group, by Tellu Turkka (Enkelit is Finnish for 'Angels'). Their repertoire is very contemporary, mostly written in the last 30 years, reflecting the ongoing renaissance in Finnish choral music. The group has performed all over the north of England, as well as making two visits to the vocal music festival in Tampere in Finland and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, Buxton Fringe and Narberth festivals. Their line-up has, of course, changed significantly since 2003, with no founding members of the choir remaining, although four members have now been part of Enkelit for over 12 years.
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