1. Völuspá (The Song of the Sibyl)
– for voices and concrete sounds
2. Gullveig
– for contrabass-recorder and tape
3. Dans
– for tape
4. Skammdegi ll
-for jazzguitar, percussion and computer keyboard
Musicians
Hilmar Jensson jazzguitar, Matthías Hemstock percussion, Camilla Söderberg contrabass-recorder, Kjartan Ólafsson
Völuspá
(The Song of the Sibyl) is based on the ancient poem Völuspá in the Icelandic Eddukvædi,
and was composed in the years 1996-2000. The composition tells the story of the creation of the
world from the time when the Old Nordic Gods lived in peace and freedom in Asgar›ur, their
holy home, to doomsday when the world is destroyed. However the end is full of hope. The word rises again more blissful and better than before.
In the composition, as in the poem Völuspa, the Sybil addresses Odinn, the chief of the Gods, the other Gods and the human citizens, warning them about what is to become. The Sybil appears as different personalities, she changes her nature; sometimes speaking as a young girl and other times as a divine song Goddess.
The work is constructed from simple melodies, mysterious tunes and concrete sounds from the nature and the old folklore song called Ar var alda.The composition is funded by The National Radio Composer Funds.
Dark Days II
was composed 1998 and premiered as a part of the Reykjavik Culture Night program the same year. In the work, an attempt is made to fuse various compositional methods and musical styles, from jazz, contemporary music, rock, and pop music. The aim is not to produce a suite of some sort; rather to fuse into one various aspects of these different styles.
Dance
is dedicated to a Dance Company in Aarhus in Denmark and was premiered there 1996. It is an original mixture of many short segments, which give the dancer opportunity to express and bring into being various characters.
Gullveig
for contrabass-recorder and tape was composed 1998 and is dedicated to Camilla Söderberg contrabass-recorder player. Gullveig is one of the characters in Völuspa, but the Gods killed her three times in a row causing endless bloodshed and wars.She is thought to symbolise the evil power of gold.
Available on Spotify here!