News
MeNaiset: Sirkka Kosonen, Eila Hartikainen, Anneli Kont-Rahtola, Anna-Kaisa Liedes, Outi Pulkkinen and Maari Kallberg.
Press photo (2.29 Mt) can be ordered from Anna-Kaisa Liedes.
Menaiset 2008 Press
photo (3.43 Mt) .
In
the music of the MeNaiset ensemble there is down-to-earth
strength and heavenly clarity. This strong ensemble
singing takes the audience rapidly from one emotion to
another, from heights of glory to valleys of sorrow. The
MeNaiset sound makes the inside of a listener tremble,
wakes up long sought-for emotions and takes the listener
into a magical world of musical trance.
The
MeNaiset ensemble started at the Sibelius Academy Folk
Music Department, the highest institute of musical
education in Finland. The young musicians who were eager
to experiment on the Finno-Ugric song culture started to
expand their knowledge and abilities by singing. The
MeNaiset members have been studying and singing songs of
Finnish, Ingrian, Seto and Mordvin origin in particular,
although not forgetting the other Finno-Ugric people
either. They have become acquainted with music of
different cultures, the diffrent ways to use voice and
different performance practises with the help of archive
recordings and notes, and - definitely not least
importantly - with the help of the remaining folk singers.
However, MeNaiset do not just merely copy the music they
have studied - their performances reflect their own
personalities, too. The songs are mostly performed in the
original language, and the lyrics are tradtional folk
poems. Most of the Finnish lyrics used follow the
Kalevala measure.
Apart
from singing traditional polyphonic songs the MeNaiset
members also do their own arrangements. New, interesting
tones and sounds are brought into their repertoire by
their own compositions, which reflect the influence of
not only Finno-Ugric but also other ethnic song
traditions. The versatile talent of the MeNaiset members
comes forward in different art productions fusing
different forms of art and in particular in vocal
improvisations which they perform both on their own and
together with more traditional music.
MeNaiset
have had concerts and tours both in their home country,
Finland, and abroad in different parts of Western Europe,
the Baltic Countries and Russia. The ensemble has co-operated
with among other the Mordvin folk ensemble Toorama, the
Seto choire Leelonaase´ and contemporary Finnish
composers and jazz ensembles.