The Estonian National Male Choir / Karl Nieler (singing bowls / Germany)

A Celebration of Heavenly Grounds. The Estonian National Male Choir / Karl Nieler (singing bowls / Germany)

The Estonian National Male Choir is one of the best-known Estonian music ensembles in the world.
The choir’s repertoire spans from renaissance to contemporary. Besides many Estonian composers, Estonian National Male Choir has premiered compositions by such luminaries as Gavin Bryars, Giovanni Bonato, Henrik Ødegaard, Dmitri Shostakovich etc.

The Estonian National Male Choir was founded in 1944 by Estonian choral conductor and composer Gustav Ernesaks. Starting from the 2011 / 2012 season Estonian National Male Choir is led by chief conductor and artistic director Mikk Üleoja. Each season the choir gives about 50-60 concerts both in Estonia and abroad.

Estonian National Male Choir frequently records for Estonian National Broadcasting and has collaborated with such labels as Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Finlandia, Alba Records, GB Records, Virgin Classics, Aurora, Ondine, Toccata Classics and SOOND. In 2004 choir was awarded the Grammy award for the best choral performance, first for Estonia (Sibelius’ cantatas, in collaboration with Ellerhein choir, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Paavo Järvi).

Karl Nieler is a musician born into a family of Estonian artists. He has since 2001 been living and working in Munich, Germany. He graduated from the Lyon Conservatory and received a Master’s degree from Karlsruhe University of Music, majoring in the bassoon. Karl Nieler specialises in playing historic as well as modern bassoons and contrabassoons. As an orchestral and chamber musician, he has participated in concerts, recordings and television productions with different orchestras, among others, Opera de Lyon, Concerto Köln, Berliner Symphoniker, Orchestre de Chambre de Geneve, Capriccio Basel, Freiburger Barockorchester, Wiener Akademie, Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has performed in various well-known concert halls, including Théâtre de Champs-Élysées, Wiener Musikverein, Salzburger Festspielhaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berliner Philharmonie, Palau de la Música Catalana and Sydney Opera House.

Nieler has since 2011 been deeply interested in high-quality Tibetan singing bowls. Initially making music and meditating with these sounds, offered to the musician himself a deeply relaxing experience. Little by little one sound followed another, with influences from classical music leading over a two year period, to the creation of the sound constellation “ÜrgHeliRuum” /AncientSoundSpace/, improvising on which is characteristic only to Karl Nieler. It was followed by an active period of concerts with 36 singing bowls, 8 tingsha plates, six Tibetan temple bells and three Wuhan Feng gongs. The CD “The Sound of a Flower” was created in 2014.