Värttinä

We are delighted to present the Värttinä trio featuring original vocalist Mari Kaasinen, Susan Aho and Karolina Kantelinen who will be singing acapella or accompanying themselves on accordion and kanteles (a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked stringed instrument similar to a zither) ... the perfect way to hear the group's return to their roots.Blending ancient Finnish runo poetry, distinctive vocal harmonies, traditional and modern acoustic instrumentation, complex rhythms and imaginative arrangements, the band have forged their own path in contemporary music. On recordings and in concert the singers’ voices and unique harmonies are the main attraction. Their style is their own, born of their own collective creative energy but with deep roots in the women’s singing tradition of Finno-Urgic tribes of the east, including Karelia, Setu, Mari Republic, Ingria Mordva and others. One key feature of these styles is extremely close harmonies, so close that they often seem strange to western ears.