Vilma Timonen

Finnish-French composer-musician Sarah Palu touches a deep chord in the soul with her début album Ikivirta [Everflow]. It is a journey through soundscapes featuring a multitude of musical influences, but always connected by a scarlet thread. Palu plays the kantele and the harp, and what she finds fascinating in music are the connection to her inner self on the one hand and connections between people on the other.

The kantele is seen as Finland’s national instrument and its mythological history is often reinforced: how Väinämöinen, a hero and the central character in our national epic, the Kalevala, builds the first kantele. The jouhikko is another instrument with a long history, known previously by the name jouhikantele (bowed kantele). Its living playing tradition gradually died down but was actively revived during the 20th century.