TRANSMISSION ART ARCHIVE

Calawalayana—Changes in the Ecology of the Mind

1986
Harri Huhtamaki
With Teppo Hauta-aho, Pekka Lappi, Seppo Paakunainen, and Pekka Ruohoranta. Bear Island, a remote wilderness area of Finland served as the primary recording location for this remarkable work that reverberates with the sounds of nature and ancient musical instruments. Additional recordings were made in the streets of Helsinki, where jazz musicians Seppo Paakunainen and Teppo Hauta-aho improvised on bass and saxophone. In the words of its producers, Calewalayana is our way of interpreting the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, from which the text is taken. It's a documentary about the Finnish identity, about breaking boundaries, and about nostalgia." Calewalayana won a Special Commendation at the 1987 Prix Futura competition in Berlin, West Germany. Produced for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE). An edited version in the original language with an English translation presented by New American Radio.