Strings Attached: The Voice of Kannel Anna-Liisa Eller

• William Byrd (1543 - 1623):
• 1Byrd: Rowland (Lord Willoughby's Welcome Home) (Arr. for chromatic kannel)03:08
• Anna-Liisa Eller (b. 1988):
• 2Eller: Improvised Prelude01:45
• John Dowland (1563 - 1626):
• 3Dowland: Lachrimae (Arr. for chromatic kannel)03:54
• Anna-Liisa Eller:
• 4Eller: Improvised Postlude No. 102:16
• Louis Couperin (1626 - 1661):
• 5Couperin: [Unmeasured] Prelude in D Minor (Arr. for chromatic kannel)07:07
• Guillaume de Machaut (1300 - 1377):
• 6Machaut: Dame, vostre doulz viaire (Arr. for psaltery)03:52
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764): Premier livre de pièces pour clavecin:
• 7Rameau: Premier livre de pièces pour clavecin: 1. Prélude (Arr. for chromatic kannel)03:16
• 8Rameau: Premier livre de pièces pour clavecin: 2. Allemande (Arr. for chromatic kannel)04:38
• Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687 - 1750):
• 9Weiss: Tombeau sur la mort de Mr. Comte de Logy (Arr. for chromatic kannel)06:31
• Helena Tulve (b. 1972):
• 10Tulve: Silmaja (Beholder)07:36
• Anna-Liisa Eller:
• 11Eller: Improvised Interlude01:27
• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583 - 1643): Fiori musicali:
• 12Frescobaldi: Fiori musicali: Toccata per le levatione, F 12.31 (Arr. for chromatic kannel)02:34
• Anna-Liisa Eller:
• 13Eller: Improvised Postlude No. 200:25
• Jean-Philippe Rameau:
• 14Rameau: Suite in D Major: 6. L'Entretien des Muses (Arr. for chromatic kannel)08:34
• Total Runtime57:03

Info for Strings Attached: The Voice of Kannel

Related to the harp but positioned horizontally by the player, the kannel possesses an uncommon timbre, at times reminiscent of the harpsichord. Anna-Liisa Eller offers us a chance to discover this treasured symbol of Estonia’s musical heritage courtesy of her own transcriptions of well-loved pieces by Couperin, Byrd, Dowland, and Rameau… A magical journey across centuries and musical styles, rounded off by original improvisations and a contemporary work by the young Estonian composer Helena Tulve, in which the instrument’s myriad colours can shine through in all their rare variety.

Anna-Liisa Eller (kannels & psaltery)

Anna-Liisa Eller
(b. 1988) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with a Master’s Degree cum laude in 2014, majoring in (the Estonian traditional plucked string instrument) kannel under Prof. Kristi Mühling. In 2013, she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon (Prof. Yves Rechsteiner, Rolf Lislevand) and, from 2013–2014, a the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Trossingen (Prof. Rolf Lislevand). At the moment, she is continuing her doctoral studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Prof. Toomas Siitan and Prof. Imbi Tarum). She has successfully participated in several international kannel competitions. Most recently, she won first prize and Koistinen kantele first special prize in Helsinki, Finland 2011. In the fall of 2019, Anna-Liisa’s solo CD will be released under Harmonia Mundi’s Harmonia Nova project. Since 2010, Anna-Liisa teaches the kannel at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School. Her main focus in music is on early music and contemporary music creation. Anna-Liisa works in close cooperation with several early music ensembles, such as Supersonus (in 2018/2019 Supersonus will release their first CD with ECM Records), Ensemble Kapsberger, Oni Wytars, Vox Clamantis, Rondellus, Floridante etc. She has also performed with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

Booklet for Strings Attached: The Voice of Kannel