 A new Icelandic oratorio will be premiered in Hallgrims Church in Reykjavík on Sunday, November 22 2009, at 4 pm. The music is written by the prominent Icelandic composer Áskell Másson on a libretto by one of Iceland‘s cultural icons, writer Thor Vilhjálmsson. The work celebrates the life and martyrdom of St. Cecilia , patron saint of music, and is premiered on her feast day. The premiere promises to be a major event in the musical life of Iceland.and will be broadcast live by the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV). The broadcast can be heard worldwide on http://dagskra.ruv.is/streaming/ras1/live/ and will be available online for four weeks after the concert.
 The oratorio was commissioned by the Friends of the Arts Society of Hallgrims Church, which has inspired the genesis of several major Icelandic church compositions in recent years under the artistic leadership of Hörður Áskelsson , organist of Hallgrims Church, who will conduct the premiere performance of the oratorio.
Four of Iceland‘s best young singers will interpret the solo roles. Soprano Þóra Einarsdóttir sings the exacting title role of Cecilia, while tenor Bragi Bergþórsson , barytone Ágúst Ólafsson and bass Bjarni Thor Kristinsson perform the male roles of the oratorio. The renowned Motet Choir of Hallgrims Church also plays a major role in the performance, as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Hallgrims Church.
 The oratorio is scored for an orchestra consisting of 32 musicians and uses the two organs of Hallgrims Church and its famed acoustics to great effect. Some of the percussion instruments used in the work have been specially built for the concert by the request of the composer by sculptor Páll Guðmundsson from Húsafell . In the making of his instruments the artist used stones from the vicinity of Húsafell, which is most appropriate as this historic site in Borgarfjörður is closely linked to the Icelandic veneration of St. Cecilia in the Middle Ages, the church of Húsafell being consecrated to the saint. In view of this fact the libretto of the oratorio is set in Húsafell, as well as in Rome, the native city of St. Cecilia.
The legend of St. Cecilia, who is believed to have been martyred in Rome in the 3rd Century AD, has been an inspiration for musicians through the centuries, and composers such as Handel, Purcell and Britten have written famous odes and oratorios for St. Cecilia. Áskell Másson‘s oratorio, however, is the first major Icelandic composition dedicated to the saint.
Tickets can be purchased in Hallgrims Church (tel. 510 1000) at ISK 3500 each (20 euros).
Áskell Másson
Áskell Másson (b. 1953) is amongst Iceland´s leading composers. Hecommenced his musical studies on the clarinet in 1961 and later studiedpercussion at the Reykjavik College of Music and privately in Londonwith James Blades. From 1973-75 he worked as a composer and percussionist of the Ballet ofthe National Theatre in Iceland and in 1978-83 he was a producer at theMusic Dept. of the Iceland State Radio, after which he has devoted histime exclusively to composition. He was Secretary General of theSociety of Icelandic Composers 1983-85, and President of the PerformingRights Society (STEF) from 1989-99. Másson has worked in Copenhagen, Stockholm, London and Paris,collaborating with such artists as Roger Woodward, Evelyn Glennie,Benny Sluchin, Gert Mortensen and Christian Lindberg. Autodidact as a composer, his music has been described as: "...etheral in sound and has an expressive character that is withdrawn yet full of intensity"."...unusual sounds reminiscent of both the human voice and of electrical instruments..."
-Göran Bergendal, New Music in Iceland. "...an essential lyricism coupled with a seducive, even sensuous manipulation of sound".
-Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph. "...to describe its character, one is almost forced to use words suchas etheric and luscious sounds, and a melodic liquefying..."
-Borås Tidning, Sweden. "...gripping melodic lines which weave and melt together and which seek to explode the common sonata frame..."
-Aachener Volkzeitung, Germany.
(Másson)"...has extraordinary insight into the unique attributes of each instrument for which he writes..."
-Hilary Finch, Nordic Sounds.
"...of lyrical predisposition, who builds up the emotional climate ofthe music by the means of refined juxtapositions of sound colours".
-Marek Podhajski, Dictionary of Icelandic Composers.
Amongst Áskell Másson's main works are the grand opera THE ICE PALACE,the symphony SINFONIA TRILOGIA, concerti for Violin, Clarinet, Viola,Snare Drum, Piano, Marimba, Trombone, Percussion, Trumpet and Tuba,orchestral works RÚN, FÖR, OKTO NOVEMBER and HVÖRF, chamber worksWOODWIND QUINTET, PIANO TRIO, VIOLIN SONATA and instrumental solosSONATA for Organ, BLIK for Clarinet, HRÍM for Cello, TEIKN for Violin,CADENZA for Trombone, and PRIM for Snare Drum. In addition to concertmusic, he has composed music for numerous plays, films and TV programs. His music has been heard in most parts of the world and has been recorded on several records and CDs. Thor Vilhjálmsson
Thor Vilhjálmsson is one of Iceland‘s most respected and renownedwriters. He was born in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1925. He completedhighschool in 1944, studied at the nordic department of the Universityof Iceland in 1944-1946, at the University of Nottingham in 1946-1947and at Sorbonne in Paris from 1947-1952. Thor was a librarian at theNational Library of Iceland from 1953-1955 and worked for the NationalTheatre from 1956-1959, as well as working abroad as a guide.
Thor has served in numerous capacities for writers and artists, he wasa member of the board of The Writer's Union of Iceland from 1972-1974,and the chairman of the Federation of Icelandic Artists from 1975-1981.He was on the national board of the Community of European Writers, inthe management board for The Reykjavík Arts Festival in 1976-1980, andin the preparatory committee for the Reykjavík Film Festival in 1978and 1980. He was a member of the board of Alliance Francaise for years.Thor is one of the founders of The Reykjavík Writer's Festival, and hasbeen a member of the board from the beginning. He was the chairman ofthe Reykjavík Judo Society for some years and is now the chairman ofthe PEN-club.
Thor was one of the founders of the cultural magazine Birtingur in1955, and was on the editorial board until 1968. Thor's first work,Maðurinn er alltaf einn (Man is Always Alone), was published in 1950and since then he has written a large number of books, fiction andnon-fiction, novels, short stories, poetry, travel stories, as well asa myriad of essays and articles on culture and art. He has receivednumerous awards for his work (e.g. Nordic Council Literature Prize1988, Swedish Academy‘s Nordic Prize 1992) and his books have beentranslated into several languages. Thor has also been a productivetranslator, translating works by Umberto Eco and André Malraux amongothers. Apart from his writing, Thor has exhibited his own paintings.
Hörður Áskelsson has been organist and cantor at Hallgrímskirkjasince 1982, when he returned to Iceland from studies in Düsseldorf, Germany. He has played a key role in building up the church’s artistic activities, founding both the Friends of the Arts Society of Hallgrímskirkja and the Motet Choir of Hallgrímskirkja in his first year, and the Schola cantorum choral ensemble in 1996. Two acclaimed events on the Icelandic music calendar, the biennial Festival of Sacred Arts and the International Organ Summer of Hallgrimskirkja Organ concert series, were devised by Hörður Áskelsson, who is their artistic director. Hörður Áskelsson has conducted performances by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and others featuring many of the greatest works of church music, and premiered many Icelandic compositions. The wide recognition that he has earned for his work includes the Icelandic Music Prize and the annual Culture Prize of the newspaper DV in 2001, appointment as Municipal Artist of Reykjavík in 2002 and the award of the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon in 2004. Since 2005 Hörður Áskessson serves as Music Director of Lutheran Church of Iceland. |
