Paintings by GUNNAR S. MAGNÚSSON, GSM.
Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Opening on Sunday the 28th of February at 12 o'clock.
LANDSÝN
The young boy playing by the ever-changing sea is bathed in a clear light and surrounded by the stillness of mountains that have endured for eons.
There is also a calm air about the man who contemplates his final journey.
For the 17th time the Friends of the Arts Society invite to this festive concert on New Year's Eve and trumpet players Ásgeir H. Steingrímsson and Eiríkur Örn Pálsson and organist Hörður Áskelsson know just how to bid the old year farewell and welcome the new one with appropriate music.
The programme is in many ways traditional. There are two Sonatines by Johann Pezel, the Stadtpfeifer in Leipzig, Concert for two trumpets and organ by Johann Melchior Molter, who worked mostly in the South of Germany, first in Eisenach and later in Karlsruhe. The famous Adagio by Giazotto and Albinoni where the trumpets play the leading theme is a permanent fixture on the programme as well as Bach’s world known Toccata and Fugue in d. The first piece on the programme differs by being new. Giubilante was written some thirty years ago as a small march for ballet children but now in December composer Áskell Másson rewrote it for these performers.
Ásgeir, Eirikur Örn and Hörður started performing together as the trio Trompeteria in 1993 for the Festive Sounds at New Year. The New Year Concerts of Festive Sounds first began in 1993 but they have also given concerts around Iceland and abroad. Besides this, Ásgeir and Eiríkur Örn often play with Hörður on various occasions in the church, when they play descants to our favourite hymns, which are more often than not written by Hörður for the occasion.
Ásgeir H. Steingrímsson, Eiríkur Örn Pálsson and Hörður Áskelsson are well known on the music scene in Iceland. Both Ásgeir and Eiríkur Örn are members of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and play active roles in local musical life, e.g. with the Icelandic Opera Orchestra, Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra and the Caput Ensemble to name but a few. They have both performed as soloists with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra. After musical training in Iceland, they pursued their studies in the USA, Ásgeir mainly in New York and Eiríkur Örn in Boston and later in Los Angeles.
After musical studies in Germany Hörður was appointed organist and Musical Director at Hallgrímskirkja in 1982. He conducts the choirs Hallgrímskirkja Motet Choir and Schola cantorum and is cultural director of Halllgrímskirkja Friends of the Arts Society and the biennial Festival of Sacred Arts. The City of Reykjavík nominated Hörður as City Artist of the Year 2002, in 2004 he was awarded the Icelandic Order of the Falcon and the Icelandic Optimist Award for 2006. Hörður Áskelsson also holds the position of Director of Music for the Church of Iceland.
Tickets are sold in Hallgrímskirkja, the church is open from 9 AM to 5 PM, on New Year's Eve from 10:30 AM. Telephone: 510 1000
Since its formation in 1982, the Motet Choir of Hallgrímskirkja has delighted audiences during the Advent with their annual Christmas Concerts. The Motet Choir’s Christmas Concerts have come to play an important role in enrichening Reykjavik’s bountiful music scene. In recent years the Motet Choir has performed Advent and Christmas music with outstanding soloists, and has been widely praised by critics for its meticulous performances.
This year’s programme consists of works by Icelandic and foreign composers alike, highlighting well-known masterpieces as well as lesser known works of sacred choir music. Recent Christmas pieces by Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo engage audiences with their warm melodies and rich harmony, elegantly conveying the majesty and beauty of Christ’s Nativity.
Also featured are Christmas hymns and carols from Iceland and beyond, i.a. Advent music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and Christmas favorites by composers Johann Eccard, Áskell Jónsson and Hörður Áskelsson. The choir will also perform well-known carols including "Nóttin var sú ágæt ein", "Ding Dong! Merrily On High" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful", inviting the audience to sing along.
The concert features soloist Björn Steinar Sólbergsson, playing French Christmas music on the magnificent Klais organ of Hallgrímskirkja. The concerts will be conducted by Hörður Áskelsson.
This year two concerts will be held in Hallgrímskirkja - on Saturday 5 December at 9 pm and on Sunday 6 December at 5 pm.
Box office in Hallgrímskirkja, Tel: 510 1000, and on midi.is
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).
