RAUTAVAARA : Marjatta (Tapiola Children's Choir) (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Einojuhani Rautavaara has produced an astonishing body of works -- symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music, and choral works -- the fruit of an apparently inexhaustible imagination. The composer's works for children's chorus alone make up this attractive Ondine release. The largest piece, Marjatta, the Lowly Maiden, with texts from the Kalevala, is described as a Finnish mystery play in one act, in which the story of the Annunciation and Jesus' birth is transported to the northern forests. It is accompanied with great restraint and austerity by flute, bongos, anvil, and string quartet. The piece beautifully illustrates Rautavaara's ability to conjure up aural images of mystery and transcendence using very simple materials; the haunting music is often very strange, but it is never complicated. All of the pieces on the album, in fact, demonstrate the composer's gift for artless, memorable melody deployed with such inventiveness that it is never hackneyed or predictable. This may be music written for children to perform and enjoy, but its substance and depth give it plenty to offer adult sensibilities. The pieces were written between the early 1970s and mid-'90s. The Tapiola Choir, led by Pasi Hyökki, sings with purity, sweetness, and mature musicality. The soloists are all superb, particularly soprano Tuuli Lindeberg in the title role in Marjatta. Ondine's sound is clean, clear, and balanced. by Stephen Eddins