Customer Reviews

Can We Have Christmas Now

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sisters Sari and Mari Kaasinen, lead singers in the group Varttina, offer here a more intimate album of Finnish Christmas music. Their arrangements for voice, piano, accordion, guitar, bass, violin, mandolin, harmonium and kantele retain Varttina's fresh, contemporary approach to harmony and structure, but abandon that group's high-energy performances in favor of a mellower sound. The sisters' voices, while still clear and straightforward in traditional Finnish folk style, lack the harsh dissonance of some of their later work and take on instead a warm, approachable tone. This simple, light-hearted album is a nice complement to the Kaasinens' work with Varttina and an enjoyable alternative to the Germanic and English music so often heard during the Christmas season.

The Kaasinen sisters are best known for their work with Varttina, but this is a side project and is not actually a Varttina release. It is quieter and more intimate than Vartinna and has a subdued beauty. The arrangements are sparse and feature mostly fiddle and accordion. Their version of Stille Nacht on the Kantele is nothing short of heavenly. This is a consistent favourite of mine throughout the winter. This is a treasure.

I've had this for almost a year and I still listen to it every other day or so. By far my favorite Värttinä album. Save for the album title I would have had no idea these were Christmas carols ( since I don't speak Finnish ) ... but the music says to me that winter is going to be long, cold, and dark.