What does a lost song sound like?

Man has caused the loss of numerous animal species by his actions. Most vulnerable have been the birds of isolated islands, defenseless against our hunting frenzy and the foreign species brought along by us. As a sad document of these species, we can admire the stuffed Dodos, Great Auks and other extinct birds in museums of natural history. But their song is lost forever.

The Huia was last seen in New Zealand in the beginning of 20th century, and the song of this relatively small forest bird was never recorded. Decades later, Hennery Hammaneh, who had heard Huias singing as a young boy, was brought to a studio. Now all that we know of the song is a recording of this man mimicking it by whistling.

Lost Songs for piano, string trio and tape was inspired by this recording which forms the basis of the tape part. In the Prologue, small spoken fragments lead into a whirl of emotions. In the second part, titled "The Song", the recorded song itself is present. In the Epilogue, only a horribly bleak remembrance remains.