Though
instrumental music is quite an original part of the Baltic culture, it displays
more common features with the neighbouring lands than the vocal music. Baltic
traditional musical instruments are mostly the same as around the Baltic sea
and in Eastern Europe. One can find goat-horn, whistles, flutes, reeds, violin,
sqeeze-box, zither in all Baltic lands. Yet other instruments have more
specific distribution: bagpipe in Estonia and Latvia's protestant part, hammer
dulcimer in Lithuania and Latvia's catholic part, hiukannel or bowed harp in Estonian islands. Most of
historical musical instruments can be seen in Historical and Open-air museums
and in state or private collections.
Kankles/kokles/kannel is quite a unique Baltic instrument. It is
a kind of board zither with 5-12 iron or natural fibre strings. Its history can
be estimated with some certainity for at least 3 thousand years; its Baltic
names have supposedly originated from proto-Baltic word *kantlēs with the original meaning "the singing
tree": Finnish kantele,
Estonian kannel,
Livonian kāndla,
Latvian kokles,
Lithuanian kankles. According
to folk beliefs, the tree for the instrument must be cut when someone has died
but is not burried yet.
Traditionally
kannel/kokles/kankles is
supposed to be the God's instrument. Fairy-tales tell about a youth who helps
greybeard; the old man turns out to be God himself and he presents the
good-hearted lad an instrument - the kokles. So the Apollonic heavenly aura and the
fine, deeply touching tone quality have decided kokles to become a sort of symbol of national
music as for Estonians as well for Latvians and Lithuanians. Unfortunately the
playing of the traditional kannel/kokles/kankles
has almost vanished. In the beginning of the 20th cntury kokles developed into a multi-stringed (25-33)
zither- or harp-like instrument; a consequent "modernization" of it
during the Soviet time resulted in a soprano, alto, tenor and bass kokles family. Folk song arrangements and
compositions of questionable musical qualities were played; in fact, this kind
of music was used for the official presentation of the national music. It can
still be heard in music schools, conservatories, Radio and TV, song festivals.
Basically middle and older generation recognize it as a "real folk
music".
The
wave of folklorism of 70-ies and 80-ies restored the interest towards the traditional
musical instruments. Many of them like bagpipe, kannel/kokles/kankles, jew's-harp, whistles, flutes, reeds,
horns, clappers and rattles are made and played in mostly unformal way. They
are used by enthusiastic individuals and in most folklore groups. Nowadays one
cannot imagine celebration of calendar fests, folk-dance parties, folklore
festivals without traditional musical instruments. The most important are
summer and winter solstice celebrations; such festivals as "Baltica"
in all three Baltic republics, "Skamba, skamba kankliai" in
Lithuania, children's and youth's folklore festival "Pulkā eimu,
pulkā teku" in Latvia and some local festivities should be mentioned
as well.
When
in Lithuania, one must find a possibility to listen to sutartines - endless sonoric meditation, both vocal
and instrumental. Recently being almost extinct this unique ancient polyphony
style is revived in Lithuanian folklore groups. The instrumental version of sutartines is played on kankles, panpipes, trumpets or horns.
The
primitive musical instruments are usually made by the players themseves; the
more advanced like kannel/kokles/kankles, bagpipe, flutes, violins, accordions, zithers are made by yet
few skilled masters. Being highly demanded, those instruments are not easy to
obtain, though at fairs and folk crafts festivals one can find them and besides
a good variety of bird-, devil- and animal-shaped clay whistles, usually blown
by children all around the place.
The
popular music instruments in Baltic are accordion and, of course, guitar. They
are played mostly at family celebrations, informal parties. After it is not
illegal to busk any more, they are the most usual to be heard in the streets,
sqares and tunnels; though some fascinating cases like French-horn quartet can
be met.
Catholic
and lutheran churches mostly have their organ, pretty often with rather
distinctive musical characteristics. Few of them like the organ of Riga Doms
are recognized world-wide, while those in the rural areas can have their own
unique charm. Chiming can be heard on Sundays. Quite peculiar is the chiming of
Kaunas carillon.
Riga, December 19, 1992