" data-original-title="" title="">Sinikka Langeland is willing to help guide you. A master of the kantele (a Nordic instrument with similarities to plucked string instruments such as a zither or dulcimer,) Langeland has released a dozen albums since the mid-1990s with Wind and Sun being the 2023 addition to her canon.

All the compositions on Wind and Sun are by Langeland while the poems—sung in Langeland's native Norwegian—are authored by Norwegian author Jon Fosse who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. Although we'll file this under Langeland, in many ways it's a partnership project between her music and Fosse's 'New Norwegian' words from the rural northwest. For most listeners, the words initially deliver a mood vs. specific meaning but the lyrics are wisely included as part of the package which allows the listener to become fully engaged. We're invited to hear stories about oceans, angels, melting snow and more and, at the same time, we're reassured that they nobly coexist with darkness, isolation, the dead. Langeland delivers the messages with reverence, patience and understated elegance.

The kantele, as played by Langeland, is subtle, delicate and as light as stardust. She deftly uses the strings of her instrument to weave a sonic tapestry of ancient folk music, world music and touches of jazz. Her musical partners on this journey are trusted friends she's worked with in the past.