Saw rings out in Tapiola Church
Aarne Laaksonen's timberwork instrument accompanies christenings, weddings
and even funerals
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By Kari Kiuru
On his way to work, chaplain Aarne Laaksonen of the Tapiola parish in the southern city of Espoo carries three items with him: a Bible, a hymnbook, and a rifle bag.
Instead of a deadly weapon, God forbid, the bag contains the chaplain's unconventional musical instruments: two or three saw blades, a fishing rod, and every now and then a bicycle pump.
Laaksonen, 55, started playing the musical saw as a schoolboy. "In those days we lived in Kitee. My father was a lumberjack and he had all the relevant tools. I figured that felling surely wasn't the only use for these instruments."
Laaksonen then started bending the saw blades in various positions, searching for different kinds of sounds. He established his playing skills fairly quickly, though at one point the talent was nearly forgotten.
These days Tapiola’s creative chaplain bends his saw blades in Sunday schools, christenings, weddings, funerals, and during his visits to the Kauniala veterans' hospital, as well as at various senior citizen happenings and parties.
Laaksonen entertains children with a smaller saw. "It is a good way to break the ice. Once I've played a few notes on a musical saw the children find it easier to approach a man of the cloth. For the elderly, saw music may bring back distant memories."
"In a nursing home where the residents suffered from dementia, I asked to no avail if anyone could name a hymn they would like to sing. But once I started playing, everyone joined in to sing the familiar tune."
Laaksonen has a dozen saws that he uses as musical instruments. Some of them are nearly a hundred years old, but he has some new purchases as well.
According to Laaksonen, a saw is an excellent instrument even for funerals. "A saw can perfectly evoke the devout themes appropriate for the occasion. But some skills are also required. Not just any kind of sawing away will appeal to people."
The musical saw's limitation is that is not suitable for up-tempo pieces of music. "Most hymns, however, are perfect for the saw. All the hymns that I can sing, I can also play on the saw", pastor Laaksonen explains.
Faster songs Laaksonen performs on a fishing rod, or alternatively on a bicycle pump. The flute-like sound of the pump is perfect for instance for fast polkas, such as the time-honoured Säkkijärvi polka.
By using a telescopic fishing rod as a wind instrument, chaplain Laaksonen manages to entertain World War II veterans with wartime front-line hits such as Äänisen aallot (The Waves of Lake Ääninen), Mantsurian kummut (The Hills of Manchuria), and Elämää juoksuhaudoissa (Life in the Trenches).
A part of Laaksonen's job description is also to provide counselling to people facing various kinds of mental and spiritual crises. He even lectures to police officers on facing crisis situations.
In conjunction with the police lectures, a new musical instrument has also been added to his collection; a telescopic police baton. So far Laaksonen has politely declined to included a musical nightstick in his repertoire.
"My aim is to bring joy to other people, but I am guilty of having some selfish ends as well. Playing music provides me with a useful counterbalance to the sometimes burdensome nature of pastoral work."
"Music opens up life and prevents one from getting bogged down. Weariness with work is a pre-stage of total burnout", Laaksonen philosophises.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.8.2004
KARI KIURU / Helsingin Sanomat
kari.kiuru@sanoma.fi
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| 31.8.2004 - THIS WEEK |
 Saw rings out in Tapiola Church |
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