Iro Haarla Ouranos Ensemble (FI)

The first recorded composition of pianist Iro Haarla was contemporary pop song Lokki [Seagull] (1975), in which the distinct cry of the seabird is ”like an idea or wish for a person to fly to astonishing heights”.

Helsinki-born Haarla (b. 1956), who studied piano and composition at Sibelius Academy, was a 20-year-old neophyte when Lokki was released, as was the track’s lyricist and singer, Taiska, who climbed the singles chart with Mombasa, a B-side hit translated from the original Italian song Ibo lelè. After this, all manner of winged creatures – nighthawks, hummingbirds, cranes – have taken flight in Haarla’s compositions, such as on her albums Heart of a Bird, Kolibri and Ante Lucem.

Haarla’s album with her new Ouranos Ensemble, Under the Firmament (2024), is no exception, as it opens with a reflective track suggestive of migratory birds called On High With Birds of Passage. Its title is also the essence of her lifelong admiration and enthusiasm, as she is above all concerned with the “incredible ability of birds to survive”, such as by remaining aloft on their wings continuously for weeks, even months. This is suggested on the Under the Firmament album, particularly in the track At the Mercy of Air Currents, in which the word ‘mercy’ offers a wide variety of broader interpretations.

However, the interpretations of this material no longer fully resemble the original recordings, as there has been a major change in the composition of the ensemble. Jone Takamäki, who played tenor saxophone and recorder, died in July. He has now been permanently replaced by electric guitarist Jarmo Saari (b. 1970). “I didn’t even consider using another wind instrumentalist, because there’s no one out there who can replace Jone’s timbre and soulful playing style in this group”, says Haarla.