Sets | Male choir Huutajat roared the voices of orcs from the Rings of Power series

When the orcs shout Rings of power-TV series, tens of millions of viewers around the world hear Finnish voices.

Namely, the Male Choir Huutajat roars as Orcs.

How did this happen, choir director Petri Sirviö?

“Composer by Bear McCreary there was a contact from the bureau. They just asked if a film or TV match had been made, and I answered in the affirmative.”

What has the choir done?

“One totally flopped Enki Bilal movie Tycho Braheto which a sound was made once upon a time.”

The composer sent scores, i.e. notes and words, to be shouted. In the beginning, the choir was not told in detail which series it was about.

“Yes, I recognized it then, that’s how often I visit Keski-Maa. I don’t know one hundred and zero parts of the orc language, but there are a few recognizable words in it.”

Singable the parts came in four stages last spring and the choir always got them right before the recording. “Huuta was banged in the studio in Oulu. It took just under an hour in total.”

Orcs were already included in the first season of the series, but at that stage the Screamers were not yet used as voices. So now we were looking for a different artistic impression?

“They were looking for a more animalistic roar, when previously there were more classical choirs.”

However, the scream is notated according to the music. That’s why choirs have been used as voices, which have been mixed together. This brought challenges to shouting.

“A shouter can’t shout to a click, that is, so that there is an accompaniment in the ears. We produce so much sound ourselves. I learned it by heart and started with just the metronome beat. Then we went organic.”

It is precisely because of this “organic side” that Huutajat was apparently wanted. “We have special expertise, we know how to shout without relying on the accompaniment, so that it can still be easily edited on top of the music.”

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“I would have been ready to make a polyphonic set, but it could be that the orcs have yet to develop polyphony.”

Performance was not technically difficult, according to choir director Sirviö. Almost the opposite.

“From there it became pretty one-inch, basically easy to shout. I would have been ready to make a polyphonic set, but it could be that polyphony is not yet developed in orcs. I had to sharpen up the most with the language costume.”

Famous and rising composer Bear McCreary listened remotely to the beginning of the first recording session.

“On the west coast, there was a supervisor the whole time. Mickey’s tracks went live to Bear McCreary’s studio. He himself was there at the beginning of the first session and stated that this is factual stuff. After that, his staff was there remotely during the recordings.”

What kind the reward for this gig came, compared to the level generally received by Huutaje?

“It was quite good, but if I had known from the beginning what it was about, I probably would have tried to haggle a little more.”

It is about a big and widely known series in the world. Now Huutajat is included and Sirviö’s name is also in the end credits. Is this one of the highlights for the Huoters?

“There were 50 million viewers in our performances at the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, so there has been great visibility before. Yes, I read as a puppy From Lord of the Rings and it was really hard. In that sense, this was a fun flashback for me and probably for quite a few choir members.”

The choir works tirelessly, and there is no reason to label them as animalistic roarers.

“It’s been our ambition since the beginning to do it anywhere. We were orcs here, but I returned last night from Seville, where there were two sold-out performances of Carmen. Carmen at one end and orcs at the other.”