Teppana Jänis – Album release February 28, 2021 (AANIA-37).

This is the very first audio release from Teppana Jänis (1850–1921). The original recordings were made by A. O. Väisänen in 1916 and 1917 on wax cylinders. New recordings are made by Arja Kastinen and Taito Hoffrén in 2020–2021. The archive material (copies of the wax cylinder recordings and the cover image) comes from the Finnish Literature Society (finit.fi).

There are 17 tracks on the album: 15 tunes from Teppana Jänis and two of them also as re-arranged. Most are dance tunes from the early 20th and late 19th century. There is also one common song of the time – “Vaivazen pojan laulu” – which Teppana both played on the kantele and sung with the kantele accompaniment. The accompaniment was performed in the same manner as it has been mentioned with the runosongs: the kantele is either played in unison with the singing or it takes the role of the other singer. In the latter case, the singer and the kantele alternate phrase by phrase, and the kantele joins the last beats of the singer. In addition, the album contains one runosong (only sung) and one church bell tune (– a beautiful example of a special area of the tradition).

The album is digital. The physical album for promotional use only.

Published by Ääniä Records (aania.fi) and Temps Oy (temps.fi).
ISRC: FI7KA2100014-30
GTIN: 6430024090857

Recorded by A. O. Väisänen in 1916–1917 and Arja Kastinen (kantele) & Taito Hoffrén (vocals) in 2020–2021. The archive recordings from the Finnish Literature Society.
Edited by Arja Kastinen & Taito Hoffrén.
Mastered by Taito Hoffrén.
Produced by Taito Hoffrén.

The cover image: SKS, KRAK 1997:256.
“Teppana Jänis soittaa kannelta veneessä 1916–1917, kuvaaja A. O. Väisänen.”

Layout by Petri Lampela.

The album has been supported by the Karjalan kulttuurirahasto.

© & ℗ Ääniä Records & Temps Oy 2021. All rights reserved.

The tune transcriptions have been published earlier in the book Kizavirzi karjalaisesta kanteleperinteestä 1900-luvun alussa.

The other photos: