ANNA-LIISA ELLER omandas 2014. aastal Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia
magistrikraadi cum laude. Aastal 2013 täiendas ta end Lyoni Kõrgemas Riiklikus
Muusika ja Tantsu Konservatooriumis ja 2013–2014 Trossingeni Muusikakõrgkoolis.
Alates 2016. aasta sügisest jätkab Anna-Liisa õpinguid Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia
doktorantuuris, juhendajateks professor Toomas Siitan ning professor Imbi Tarum.
Anna-Liisa on saavutanud silmapaistvaid tulemusi mitmetel konkurssidel nii Eestis kui
välismaal, teiste seas esikohad 2008. aastal Vilniuses ja 2011. aastal Helsingis
rahvusvaheliseltel kandlekonkurssidel, millest viimasel ta pälvis ka Koistinen kantele
eripreemia. 2021. aasta septembris valmis Anna-Liisa Elleril sooloplaat “Strings
Attached. The Voice of Kannel” koostöös plaadifirmaga Harmonia Mundi.
Alates 2010. aastast õpetab Anna-Liisa Eller kannelt Georg Otsa nimelises Tallinna
Muusikakoolis ja 2016. aastast Tallinna Muusikakoolis. Tema erihuviks on varajane ning
kaasaegne muusika. Ta on esinenud arvukatel muusikafestivalidel Eestis, Leedus, Poolas,
Austrias, Hispaanias, Itaalias, Saksamaal, Norras, Prantsusmaal jm. Ta on osalenud
mitmete Eesti ja rahvusvaheliste varajase muusika ansamblite töös, seda nii solisti kui
ansamblistina. Anna-Liisat seob aktiivne koostöö ansamblitega Supersonus (juunis 2019
valmis ansambli esikplaat koostöös plaadifirmaga ECM), Kapsberger, Oni Wytars, Vox
Clamantis, Floridante, Rondellus jt.
RIIGI KULTUURIPREEMIA ETTEPANEK
Info preemia kandidaadi kohta:
Kandidaadi nimi Anna-Liisa Eller
(kandideerida saavad füüsiline isik või füüsilised isikud)
Preemia kategooria
Kultuuri aastapreemia X
(eelmisel kalendriaastal avalikkuseni jõudnud väljapaistvate tööde eest)
Selgitus aastapreemia kategoorias Erakordselt särav kontserttegevus
kandideerimise juurde CD «Strings Attached: The Voice of
(üks või mitu eelmisel kalendriaastal avalikkuseni jõudnud
väljapaistvat tööd, mille eest preemiale esitatakse)
Kannel" (Harmonia Mundi)
Info preemia kandidaadi esitaja kohta:
Esitav organisatsioon või isik Eesti Gregoriaani Ühing
(ettepanekuid kultuuripreemiate kandidaatide kohta
võivad teha loomeliidud; juriidilised isikud, kelle põhikirjas
või põhimääruses on sätestatud kultuuri- või haridusalane
tegevus; preemia senised laureaadid, kohalikud
omavalitsused)
Kontakttelefon 56 276 456
E-posti aadress
[email protected]
Kinnitan, et ülaltoodud andmed on õiged ja esitan kandidaadi riigi kultuuripreemiale:
Kandidaadi esitaja nimi ja ametinimetus Allkiri Kuupäev
Jaan-Eik Tulve, dirigent 10.01.2022
NB! Kohustuslik lisa: vabas vormis põhjendus kandidaadi esitajalt.
Soovitatavad lisad: kandidaadi CV, soovituskiri või -kirjad.
Digitaalselt allkirjastatud ettepanek saata e-posti aadressile
[email protected] või paberkandjal postiga
aadressil Suur-Karja 23, 15076 Tallinn
Vorm põhineb riigi kultuuripreemiate ja kultuuristipendiumide seadusel.
Jaan-Eik Tulve
Ansambel Vox Clamantis
Eesti Gregoriaani Ühing
Taara 19
10918 Tallinn
Tel.: 56 276 456
e-mail:
[email protected]
Tallinnas, 10. jaanuaril 2022
EV Kultuuriministeeriumile
AVALDUS
Teeme riigi kultuuripreemiate komisjonile ettepaneku anda kultuuri aastapreemia
kandlemängija Anna-Liis Ellerile erakordselt särava kontserttegevuse eest aastal 2021
ning samuti möödunud aastal plaadifirmas Harmonia Mundi ilmavalgust näinud CD
«Strings Attached: The Voice of Kannel» eest.
Anna-Liis Eller on üks silmapaistvaim noore generatsiooni muusik Eestis. Kannel ei ole
nn. traditsiooniline instrument, millega maailmalavadel liikumine oleks lihtne. Seega on
Anna-Liisa jõudmine maailma tippmuusikute ansamblitesse omaette suursaavutus. Anna-
Liisal on suur huvi vanamuusika vastu. Kuna aga mitte ükski vana aja tunnustatud
helilooja pole kirjutanud kandlele, sest arvatavasti polnud nad sellist instrumenti
näinudki, teeb Anna-Liisa ise kandleseadeid muude instrumentide repertuaarist. Anna-
Liisa mängib ka väga palju uut muusikat. Siin on asi lihtsam, sest olles Anna-Liisa
tundlikku mängu kuulnud, on paljud heliloojad sellest vaimustusse sattudes talle ka kohe
kirjutanud. Seega on tänu Anna-Liisale tekkinud juba üpriski arvestatav hulk uut
muusikat.
Eraldi väärib aga esiletõstmist tema sooloalbum jällegi ühes maailmatasemel plaadifirmas,
mille kataloogi jõudmiseks oleksid paljud nõus end lõhki rebima. Temale saabus selline
ettepanek lihtsalt plaadifirmalt eneselt. Olgu ka kohe märgitud, et siiani ei ole sellise
tasemega plaadifirmas sooloplaati õnnestunud üllitada mitte ühelgi Eesti
sooloinstrumentalistil. Esile tuleb tõsta ka plaadi arvustusi juhtivates muusikaajakirjades,
nagu Gramophone ning BBC Music Magazine. CD on pälvinud Eesti Muusikanõukogu
poolt Aasta Kammermuusika Albumi tunnustuse.
Jaan-Eik Tulve
ansambli Vox Clamantis kunstiline juht
Anna-Liisa Eller on Strings Attached | Presto Music 10/01/2022, 19(32
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INTERVIEW Anna-Liisa Eller on Strings Attached 21st September 2021
by David Smith
After Anna-Liisa Eller lent the distinctive and evocative sonority of her kannel
to Vox Clamantis's 2020 album The Suspended Harp of Babel, which featured
the choral music of the Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek, a little curiosity
among music-lovers as to what exactly this instrument was would be
understandable.
Anna-Liisa's new solo album, Strings Attached, answers this question by
placing the instrument squarely in the spotlight; she explores far beyond the traditional folk roots
that the kannel shares with other Baltic-region zithers, presenting a series of transcriptions of early
keyboard music, as well as offering a tantalising glimpse of its contemporary repertoire in the form
of Helena Tulve's Silmaja [Beholder]. I spoke to her about how the instrument developed, what sort
of music might have been played on it through its long history, and what its future might hold.
You mention the kannel’s relationship to the Renaissance psaltery and thus,
indirectly, to the harpsichord. Is there any evidence that Baroque music was ever
actually performed on the kannel or its other North European relatives?
Yes, as far as I have researched this topic I see a clear constructional parallel between the kannel and
the psaltery; it's interesting that in nineteenth-century Estonia “kannel” was a common general word
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Anna-Liisa Eller on Strings Attached | Presto Music 10/01/2022, 19(32
for all plucked string instruments. As yet I don't have any clear historical proof that Baroque music
has been played on kannel-type instruments, but the kannel was widely used and existed in almost
every home: every player made their own instruments, so there are countless different ones out
there. There was a belief that kannel brings luck to your home and family.
The kannel’s current chromatic form seems to owe some of its origins to the
imposition of Soviet views on how local folk musics should fit into the Soviet folk
scene. Do you think the chromatic instrument would even exist if it hadn’t been for
this heavy handed policy?
There are several fully chromatic kannels with different string arrangements dating from the end of
the eighteenth century, which is proof that players and instrument-makers were already exploring
the possibility of adding all chromatic scales to the kannel. And the instrument-maker Väino Maala,
whose type of kannel I am playing and who was the winner of the National Chromatic Kannel Design
Competition, has made many other types of kannels. He himself played a so-called 'harp-kannel',
where he had strings on both sides of the instrument and he put this standing to a side like a harp -
perhaps the closest historical example would be an arpanetta. I am sure that chromatic kannels do
exist, but I think they might not have been commercially produced, or at least not in large numbers
in the Estonian Piano Factory.
Once the instrument had assumed its chromatic form (following a design
competition in the 1940s), did classical composers of the time take it up and write
new works for it, or was it mostly used in Soviet folk-music ensembles?
Yes! Composers fell in love with chromatic kannel since the time it was invented and they keep
enthusiastically composing for it today. (This autumn, for example, I will play the world premiere of a
concerto for kannel and chamber orchestra by Lauri Jõeleht). I would rather say that the chromatic
kannel started to live its own life: it has many more possibilities than the previous types of kannels.
Can you tell us a little about the new work by Helena Tulve that you play on this
recording, Silmaja [Beholder]?
Silmaja was originally written for three kannels, and was commissioned for the opening ceremony of
KUMU Art Museum in 2006. Helena Tulve says she imagined a walk in an art museum where we
could have a look at different art works. The solo kannel version, which I play on the CD, was created
in 2007. There is also a version for kannel and harpsichord, and last year a version for kannel and
electronics. Helena is a great composer and a friend, and our collaboration is very much ongoing!
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Anna-Liisa Eller on Strings Attached | Presto Music 10/01/2022, 19(32
To many listeners the kannel’s sonority seems to sit exactly halfway between the
harpsichord and the harp. You’re playing primarily adaptations of keyboard works
here; is it practical to play arrangements of harp repertoire as well?
We can indeed make arrangements from different instruments' repertoire - harp repertoire in
particular. I would say from my experience that the early music repertoire in general is easier to
adapt; the contemporary harp repertoire uses the glissando scales in different tonalities which
sometimes are not possible for the kannel to play as glissando, so whether there will be enough time
to play these scales digitally depends on the character of the piece. Another difficulty is the big
difference in the range between the modern harp and the kannel: the modern harp range is C1
(three octaves below the middle C) to G7 (three and half octaves above), and the kannel range is
CLASSICAL
G2/F2 or in some JAZZ
cases C2 SHEET
to A3 orMUSIC BOOKS
C4. I also arrange piecesINSTRUMENTS
originally written for the viola da gamba
and lute etc. First and foremost it has to be inspiring music, which makes me search for possibilities
Composers Artists Labels Genres Formats Awards New & Future Releases
to arrange it for my instrument.
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Despite its extremely long history as part of Estonia’s folk tradition, formal tuition on
the kannel seems to be relatively new – with it entering the syllabus at the Estonian
Academy of Music and Theatre only in 2002. What do you think has prompted this
revival of interest?
The first chromatic kannel class was formally founded in 1949, and since then chromatic kannel has
been taught in children's music schools. Els Roode, the grand old lady of kannel, has done a
magnificent job popularising the instrument, developing teaching methodology, building up the
education system and so on. All these decades of lasting work by her and her colleagues led to a kind
of “recognition” of the kannel in classical music circles, so that launching a kannel class in our
Estonian Music Academy became possible; the class is taught by Kristi Mühling, who also was my
teacher there. The kannel as an instrument is still evolving, as is its repertoire: every professional
player can find their own unique path, contributing to the kannel’s evolution. I hope that my musical
work does that too.
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Anna-Liisa Eller on Strings Attached | Presto Music 10/01/2022, 19(32
Strings Attached: the Voice of Kannel
Anna-Liisa Eller (kannels & psaltery)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel
Vox Clamantis
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
David Smith - Head of Digital
David writes as an early music specialist for Presto Music and Early Music America, and sings
with the English vocal groups Ex Cathedra and Armonico Consort and as a lay clerk at St
Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham, UK.
Copyright © 2002-22 Presto Classical Limited. All rights reserved.
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Anna-Liisa Eller. “Strings Attached. The Voice of Kannel” 10/01/2022, 19(30
Ia Remmel Oct 1, 2021
Anna-Liisa Eller. “Strings Attached. The Voice of Kannel”
https://www.ajakirimuusika.ee/single-post/anna-liisa-eller-strings-attached-the-voice-of-kannel Page 1 of 3
Anna-Liisa Eller. “Strings Attached. The Voice of Kannel” 10/01/2022, 19(30
Eesti kõrgetasemelisel ja originaalsel kandlemängijal Anna-Liisa Elleril tuli sel aastal maailma tippfirma Harmonia Mundi märgi all
välja sooloalbum. Anna-Liisa Elleri eriline huvi oma instrumenti mängides on kuulunud kaasaja muusikale ja vanamuusikale. Ka
oma doktoritöös EMTAs käsitleb ta seda teemat: “XVII ja XVIII sajandi instrumentaalmuusika kohandamisest Eesti kromaatilisele
kandlele”. Plaadil kõlabki kandlele ülihästi sobiv XVI–XVIII sajandi muusika.
Eller on õppinud Eesti väljapaistvate õpetajate käe all (Malle Vihul, Kristi Mühling), täiendanud end Lyonis (prof Yves
Rechsteiner) ja Trossingenis (prof Rolf Lislevand) ning EMTA doktorantuuris (prof Imbi Tarum ja prof Toomas Siitan). Ta on kahe
suure rahvusvahelise konkursi laureaat, pälvinud I preemia konkursil Vilniuses ja Helsingis. Praegu on ta ka rahvusvahelise
ansambli Supersonus liige ja teeb koostööd Oni Wytarsi, Vox Clamantise, Floridante, Rondelluse, The Bright Future Ensemble’i
ja teistega.
Eesti kromaatiline kannel on omajagu ainulaadne instrument. Anna-Liisa Eller kirjutab sellest oma plaadi kaastekstis: “Selleks, et
kandlel oleks võimalik mängida kromaatilist muusikat, korraldati 1945. aastal konkurss kromaatilise kandle konstrueerimiseks.
Konkursi võitjaks tulnud Väino Maala töötas selle süsteemi välja. [---] Väino Maala kromaatiline kannel on igas mõttes perfektne
instrument barokkmuusika mängimiseks. Sellel saab mängida kõigi helistike kõigis helikõrgustes ning pillil on avar
dünaamikavõimaluste skaala.”
Kuulates plaadi teoste valikut, milleks on interpreedi enda seaded Rameau’, John Dowlandi, Louis Couperini, William Byrdi,
Frescobaldi, Sylvius Leopold Weissi teostest – lisaks veel Guillaume de Machaut põikena keskaega –, jätab see muusika
kromaatilisel kandlel väga orgaanilise mulje. Kannel justkui sulatab siin endasse virginaali, klavessiini, viola da gamba
kõlaomadusi ning tulemuseks on originaalne, värske ja samas autentselt stiilne kõlamaailm. Interpreedina on Anna-Liisa Eller
äärmiselt tundlik, sisseminev, terviklik oma instrumendiga. Peale kandle mängib Anna-Liisa plaadil ka psalteeriumil, mis oli
Euroopas laialdaselt kasutusel kuni XV sajandi keskpaigani. Ülimalt põnev idee on improviseeritud vahepalad ühelt teoselt
teisele üleminekul, mida Anna-Liisa Eller esitab elektroonilisel kandlel (Elleri pillid on valmistanud Soome kuulsa Koistinenide
suguvõsa kandlemeistrid). Seal tundub, nagu toimuks aja ja ruumi pidev nihe, nii rändab ka kuulaja ajastute vahel. Orgaaniliselt
sulandub tervikusse meie aja teos, Helena Tulve “Silmaja”, mis oma heli mikrotoonidesse süvenemisega annab albumile
lisamõõtme.
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Strings Attached – The Voice of the Kannel
Anna-Liisa Eller (kannel, psaltry) (Harmonia Mundi)
Our rating
5.0 out of 5 star rating 5.0
By Michael Beek
Published: October 1, 2021 at 10:49 am
Strings Attached – the Voice of Kannel
Works by Byrd, L Couperin, Dowland, Frescobaldi, Machaut,
Rameau, Tulve and S Weiss
Anna-Liisa Eller (kannel, psaltry)
Harmonia Mundi HMN 916110 54:17 mins
This recording showcases Estonia’s national instrument: the kannel – said to
have been played by the gods and bards of legend. Similar in its origins to the
Biblical psaltery, the kannel also bears a faint resemblance to a clavichord but
brags all the resonance of a harp. Originally used for Estonian folk music, it
has evolved into a sophisticated concert instrument whose fully chromatic,
four-octave range and ample dynamic spectrum make it strikingly versatile.
Conceived as ‘an audio voyage’, this programme makes associations
between diverse repertoire through timbre, texture, colour and ‘affect’.
Highlighting the connections between the traditional kannel and the
instrument said to have been played by King David, Anna-Liisa Eller chooses
the psaltery for Machaut’s beguiling song ‘Dame, vostre doulz viaire’, which
flows like tears from her fingers. She plays the ‘classic’ kannel in a selection
of works whose pervasive melancholy is highlighted by the instrument’s
plangent sound: Dowland’s Lachrimae, brooding preludes by Louis Couperin
and Rameau, a funereal Tombeau by the great lutenist Sylvius Leopold
Weiss. To these, she brings a sense of improvisatory freedom and an array of
expressive gestures and dynamics. Eller’s own improvisations exploit the
instrument’s many possibilities; two are on an electric kannel, and they
conjure up myriad colours, timbres and textures. In the hands of a gifted
virtuoso like Eller, one understands why some have described the kannel’s
sonority as the ‘sound from heaven’.
Kate Bolton-Porciatti
Authors
Michael Beek
Reviews Editor, BBC Music Magazine
Michael is the Reviews Editor of BBC Music Magazine. He was previously a
freelance film music journalist and spent 15 years at St George's Bristol.
Michael specialises in film and television music and was the Editor of
MusicfromtheMovies.com. He has written for the BBC Proms, BBC Concert
Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood in
Vienna and Silva Screen Records.
Review | Gramophone 10/01/2022, 19(36
The kannel, Estonia’s national instrument, is closely related to
other box zithers common in the Baltic region, including the
Russian gusli and the Finnish kantele. The concert instrument
heard on this recording is a modern expansion of the folk
instrument. It is tuned chromatically rather than diatonically,
and has a four-octave range and a great many more strings
than the kannel used in folk music.
Strings Attached: the
Anna-Liisa Eller proves the adaptability of the concert Voice of Kannel
instrument to a wide range of repertoire on this engaging disc,
(Anna-Liisa Eller)
which includes not only Baroque and Renaissance works
Rowland, or Lord
played on the kannel but a virelai by Machaut transcribed for
Willoughby's welcome
psaltery (a closely related instrument) and improvised
home
interludes performed on an electronic kannel. The challenge in
the Baroque and Renaissance works is adapting the sustained
Improvised Prelude
tones of the instrument to faster-moving and ornamented
passages, where things tend to get a bit blurry. But the Lachrymae Pavan
instrument’s relatively short decay and Eller’s judicious choice
of tempos mitigate that. Improvised Postlude
No. 1
The kannel produces a robust sound, and listeners new to the
instrument might well guess they are listening to a slightly Dame, vostre doulz
sweeter harpsichord without felts to damp the strings. Eller’s viaire
repertoire choice underscores the sonic affinities of the two
instruments, with music by Rameau, Louis Couperin, Premier Livre de
Frescobaldi, Byrd and Dowland. In Byrd’s Lord Willoughby’s Pièces de Clavecin,
Welcome Home we encounter one of the few infelicities of the Movement:
kannel impersonating a keyboard instrument: a slightly Allemande
lopsided extended trill. Otherwise, the ornaments all translate,
Tombeau sur la mort
especially the mordents and short trills, which are more
de M. Comte de Logy
explosive and delimited.
The contemporary works and improvisations are a mixed bag. Silmaja
Helena Tulve’s Silmaja responds to the instrument’s sonorities
Improvised Interlude
with a musical narrative made up of short, gestural bursts of
sound. It is episodic but effective. Eller’s improvisations help
Toccata per
link the other works, sometimes with thematic connections,
l'Elevatione
including an anticipatory reference to Dowland’s Lachrimae
before her sensitive rendition of the famous lament. The Improvised Postlude
electronic kannel produces an interesting effect, moody and No. 2
immersive, but it seems to be from another universe and might
well belong on its own disc. Pièces de clavecin,
Movement: l'entretien
des muses
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