Kalkkeen meri ahtona (2006) for kantele and accordion is about gradual changes of timbre and harmony, as well as finding a balance between static and dynamic, slow and fast. Before Kalkkeen meri ahtona, Virtaperko had written solo pieces for both kantele and accordion that were instrumentally and structurally fairy traditional: the virtuosic The Devil’s Lungs (2005) for accordion, and the polyrhythmic Wanderer 32 (2006) for kantele. Compared to these two solo works, Kalkkeen meri ahtona is expressionally and structurally more abstract and the careful adjustments of timbre and pitch are the main focus.
In the kantele part, several non-standard instrumental techniques are used, such as scratching the strings with finger nails, hitting the strings with a dulcimer hammer and producing ambient-like sounds using an EBow (a hand-held electronic device, which makes ferromagnetic strings vibrate, creating a string-like continuous sound).
Kalkkeen meri ahtona was commissioned by Eija Kankaanranta who premiered the piece with Veli Kujala in Berlin in May 2006.
Instrumentation
for concert accordion and concert kantele
2006
