The Night of the Arts: A Sounding Home
Musicians
MAIJA KAUHANEN
Maija Kauhanen is one of Finland’s most distinctive contemporary musicians – a performer whose work is deeply rooted in the folk music tradition while constantly evolving and taking new forms. Known for her experimental musical expression, Maija specialises in the 23-string Saarijärvi kantele, whose rich bass strings and bright melodic strings produce a truly unique sound in her hands.
In the A Sounding Home concert at Amos Anderson’s Home Museum, Maija creates musical and visual worlds using a transparent plexiglass kantele fitted with an LED lighting system. The instrument was developed in collaboration with her father, instrument maker Kari Kauhanen. Maija’s performances always include a strong element of improvisation and are shaped by the spaces in which they are performed. Depending on the moment and her inspiration, she also incorporates additional instruments ranging from wind chimes to prepared five-string kanteles.
During the performance, Maija’s sound worlds can be experienced in the study of the Home Museum.
www.maijakauhanen.com
ANNA-SOFIA ANTTONEN
Anna-Sofia Anttonen is a curious saxophonist and composer who explores the expanded possibilities of her instrument and of musical performance. She composes delicate music for saxophones and electronics, bringing together her extensive background in classical and contemporary music, a curiosity towards different musical genres, and a desire to pause and truly listen.
Her work explores the more subtle expressive qualities of the saxophone by combining layered electronic sounds with the gentle – and at times delightfully playful – voices of ceramic flutes. Together with artist Armi Teva, Anna-Sofia has created the ceramic Kukkapilli flutes, each with its own distinctive shape and tone. Recently, she has also drawn inspiration from medieval melodies and from observing the movements of whooper swans during her residency at Saaren Kartano. Anna-Sofia’s artistic work is currently supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation.
At Amos Anderson’s Home Museum, Anna-Sofia spreads out across the chapel floor with an assortment of whistles, curious creatures and instruments. Visitors are invited to experience the instruments up close, while she transforms the chapel into a relaxed, welcoming and peaceful environment where everyone is free to stay and listen for as long as they wish.
J-P PIIRAINEN
As a composer of the 2020s, J-P Piirainen weaves together Finnish tradition, guitar music and his own distinctive musical voice. In his search for previously unheard sounds, he has forged his own path by developing the guitele, a one-of-a-kind instrument that combines the acoustic guitar with the Finnish kantele into a single instrument.
One of the world’s most familiar instruments meets a traditional instrument deeply connected to Finnish mythology and history. Virtuosic guitar playing merges with the striking sound of the kantele to create an entirely new musical landscape. J-P Piirainen’s music evokes both the modern world and the timeless tranquillity of the forests of Karelia.
In the Pillar hall at Amos Anderson’s Hem house museum, J-P focuses on discovering the smallest yet most meaningful notes within the guitele – simple, beautiful melodies and an atmosphere of peace.
Concert concept
The concept for the concert is curated by Helena Dumell. It is the second event organised by the Amos Andersons hem Museum with the aim of making concerts more relaxed and accessible.
This time, the concept allows visitors to move freely between the different rooms and take a seat whenever they feel like it. The first concert, Amos Chimitoensis, was a more traditional concert, with a seated audience in the museum’s different rooms. The aim was to create a concert experience where the audience did not have to remain completely silent, making it possible for people who might otherwise feel hesitant about attending concerts to participate – whether they have a chronic cough, find it difficult to sit still for extended periods, or for other reasons.
The idea for the concert A Sounding Home was born from a desire to present unique instruments whose distinctive sound worlds blend together in the space, creating an exciting and unprecedented atmosphere in the house museum.