Gifts of the Spirit - Icelandic Church Music
Thorkell SIGBJÖRNSSON
The Lily; One God; Never Neglect;
Jón LEIFS
Three Church Songs; Lord's prayer;
Jón NORDAL
Toccata
Hjálmar H RAGNARSSON
God Creator of Light and Life
Atli Heimir SVEINSSON
A time to Learn
Áskell JÓNSSON
Adoration of Mary
Árni THORSTEINSSON
Peace on Earth
Páll ISOLFSSON
Adoration of Mary; Ostinato et Fughetta
Ragnar BJÖRNSSON
Heavenly flower
Jón THORARINSSON
Jesus, my morning star
Jónas TÓMASSON
If; Magnificat
Margrét
Bóasdóttir (sop)
Björn Steinar Sólbergsson (organ)
ICELAND MUSIC INFORMATION CENTRE ITM 8-11 [60.13]
How many will give this album a chance? Those who do will find it cunningly
programmed to evade monotony. Solo organ provides a modicum of punctuation,
drama, contrast and breathing space between the predominant acres of music
for soprano and organ. Sólbergsson navigates the rapids of the wild
and woolly Nordal Toccata in all its ice-cathedral Gothickrie.
He clearly also relishes the Isólfssón Ostinato and Fughetta
which tumbles, rolls and trills its way in a splendour that derives
from the twin traditions of Bach and Reger.
However most of the disc has, in the foreground, the voice of Margrét
Bóasdóttir. She is, quite simply, superb. When I hear this
voice I think of the purity the young Felicity Palmer brought to Holst's
Four Songs for soprano and solo violin. Purity, radiance and steady
tone give her voice a rare 'white' tone. The Sigbjörnsson tracks
bask in lullaby simplicity as do the tracks allocated to Sveinsson
and Ragnarsson the latter having contributed music to the Jon Leifs
film bio Tears Of Stone. Leifs' four tracks are more varied:
Father Above revels in some complexity and has the subtle swaying
ululation of Sibelius's Luonnotar something also encountered in the
other ITM collection of Leifs cantatas. There are memorable imaginative strokes
in this becalmed and calming music: e.g. the insistent heartbeat in the
Tomasson track. Tomasson's Magnificat, by the way, is a sour
piece to which I did not warm - the only misfire. Leifs Lord's
Prayer has the anchored stability of a Vaughan Williams hymn and the
'otherness' of Hovhaness's religious works e.g. the Magnificat (Delos).
It also has the virginal ecstasy of Nyman's music from the 'Epithalamion'
scene in the Jarman film Prospero's Books. Jonsson's piece
evokes the long departed spirit of Monteverdi. The Thorsteinsson is
the only track (12) in which the singer seems out of spirits; her voice is
tired and uncomfortable. This is a pity as the lyric contour suggests inspiration
from Peterson-Berger's Frösöblomster. Lovely recording and
good background notes.
Rob Barnett
Helga Sif Gudmundsdóttir
Iceland Music Information Centre
Sidumula 34
108 Reykjavik
ICELAND
phone +354 568 3122
fax +354 568
3124
itm@mic.is
http://www.mic.is/
