Martti Eliel Pokela (23 January 1924 – 23 August 2007) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and composer. Pokela was an expert with the

kantele A kantele () or kannel () is a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Estonian kannel, Latvian kokles, Lithuanian ...

, Finland's national

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

Life and career

Pokela and his wife, Marjatta Pokela, were widely credited with ushering in a revival in interest in Finnish folk music beginning in the 1950s. Their daughter, Eveliina Pokela, began performing with them in the 1960s. Pokela merged traditional Finnish folk music with contemporary sounds. The family's albums have also been released outside of Finland. Pokela taught kantele playing at the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

and

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

until 1987. He was the founder of the academy's folk music department, where he was named a full professor in 1980. He is buried in the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...

in Helsinki.

Albums

* Keskiyön Auringon Lauluja (1969) * ''Best of Kantele'' (1995) * ''Sonata For Kantele'' (1996) * ''Snow Kantele'' (1998) * "Tuulikumpu" (2001) * ''Improsette by Martti Pokela'' (2005)

References

External links

YLE News: "Finland's Kantele Master Martti Pokela Dies"

Finnish Music Centre: "Martti Pokela dies at 83"
1924 births 2007 deaths People from Haapavesi Finnish composers Finnish male composers Finnish musicologists Academic staff of Sibelius Academy Kantele players Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery 20th-century Finnish musicians 20th-century musicologists 20th-century male musicians {{finland-composer-stub