The Lorca suite is probably Rautavaara's most popular choral work. The combination of Lorca's poetry and the soaring melodic lines of the music make it a true pearl of contemporary choral literature. Rautavaara has injected each of the four movements of the suite with its own unmistakable character. Text: Federico Garcia Lorca (Spanish/Finnish), duration: 7 minutes.

The First Runo is unusual in that it is a setting of part of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, in an English translation rather than the original Finnish. Rautavaara has chosen the very first poem of the Kalevala, which describes the creation of the world according to Finnish mythology. Rautavaara uses a shimmering vocal texture to paint an image of the primeval lake. Duration: 8 minutes.