Heikki Sarmanto
The Song of Extinct Birds
Tapiola Choir
Heikki Sarmanto Ensemble
Kari Ala-Pöllänen, conductor
Track listing
11 tracks · 60:49Heikki Sarmanto
- The Song of Extinct Birds (2002) 61:25
- 1 I. Listen to the Wind 7:45
- 2 II. Long Ago There Was Darkness 4:57
- 3 III. Life Begins in the Sea 5:39
- 4 IV. What Happened to the Dinosaurs? 8:13
- 5 V. Early Man 5:06
- 6 VI. Fire 3:20
- 7 VII. Galileo 4:14
- 8 VIII. Man, the Dreamer 3:58
- 9 IX. Technology 5:18
- 10 X. What Are We Doing? 6:08
- 11 XI. Search for a Quiet Place 6:11
The artists
Tapiola Choir
The Tapiola Choir is one of the world's leading children's choirs and consists of 70 young musicians aged 9 to 18, all of whom also play at least one musical instrument in addition to singing. Erkki Pohjola founded the Tapiola Choir in Espoo in 1963. After meeting Zoltan Kodály and Carl Orff in 1964, he adapted their ideas into a free-form education method with a chamber-music approach, building on the innate creativity and musical talents of children. He continued to pursue this new music education ideal as conductor of the Tapiola Choir for over three decades. During that time, the Choir evolved from a run-of-the-mill school choir into one of the most acclaimed vocal instruments of our time. International critics called its unique sound the ‘Tapiola Sound'. Kari Ala-Pöllänen continued the work of Erkki Pohjola from 1994 to 2008, until he was succeeded by Pasi Hyökki, one of the Choir's own alumni.
Kari Ala-Pöllänen
Like Erkki Pohjola, his predecessor as Conductor and Music Director of the Tapiola Choir, Kari Ala-Pöllänen is a school teacher by training. But he is also a multitalented musician who plays several instruments. He has worked as an orchestral musician and in the fields of folk music and jazz. He has conducted, sung in vocal groups, taught and written text books for schools. To add to all this, he has acted as Artistic Director of international choral festivals, been a juror for choral competitions and been active in training choral directors and singers.