The Roots and the Shoots of Runic Song
Funded by Euregio Karelia Neighbourhood Programme 2001-2006

Objective of the project

The most important goal of the Folk Music development project and its parallel, The Roots and the Shoots of Runic Song, was to create a joint centre of expertise of folk music, cultural heritage and travel in Kainuu and White Sea Karelia as well as establish folk music activity unit in Kainuu, serving the entire Finland and beyond. Creating a centre of expertise was a means of supporting the tourism strategy of Kainuu, based on the Kalevala theme, and supporting the sustainability of the runic villages of White Sea Karelia.

Main activities

• Organisation of cooperation between Finnish and Karelian actors • Coordination of cultural excursions, seminars and cultural events • Digitalisation of folk music recordings and transforming them to the archives of the Juminkeko Foundation. • Assist in the development of programme services based on the expertise in the Finnish-Karelian runic song tradition • Organisation of the Sommelo Folk Music Festival in Finland and Uhtua. • Performing and teaching at different kind of events by the research musicians working on the project, organisation of a children’s summer camp

Achievements

The project was included in organising cooperation between Finnish and Karelian actors, particularly the Research Institute of the Karelian Language, Literature and History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Petrozavodsk State Music Academy and the Kalevala School of Music, and, on the Finnish side, the department of folk music of the Sibelius Academy and the Kuhmo Music Institute. The project increased the know-how among those working with and researching culture as well as with those involved in cultural tourism. The project coordinated, among other things, cultural excursions, seminars and cultural events. The project collected 150 hours of folk music recordings, which were digitised and transferred to the archives of the Juminkeko Foundation. The collected recordings were indexed and classified so, that they can be added to the search programme of the Juminkeko Foundation to be published in the Internet. Several dissertations were made from the collected material in the Sibelius Academy and the Petrozavodsk State Music Academy. The project offered, to the travel business entrepreneurs in Kainuu, the possibilities to acquire programme services based on the expertise in the Finnish-Karelian runic song tradition in addition to information to develop them further. Based on the initiative of the project, the Sommelo Folk Music Festival is a concrete addition to develop cultural tourism in Kainuu. The Sommelo Festival was also organised in Kalevala (formerly known as Uhtua), and a special cultural Sommelo excursion to White Sea Karelia was organised jointly with an entrepreneur. Cultural tourism to the villages of White Sea Karelia was boosted by the project, and the inhabitants' self-esteem and sustainability of the villages increased. During the project, a plan was drafted about establishing the Runic Song Academy in Kuhmo: a separate establishment plan began in the beginning of 2008. A separate building is being planned for the Runic Song Academy, which should be completed in 2010.