Thorkell SIGURBJÖRNSSON
Kisum (1970)
Gunnar Egilson clarinet, lngvar Jónasson viola, Thorkell
Sigurbjörnsson piano
Hässelby Quartet (1968)
The Saulesco Quartet: Mirexa Saulesco, Claes Nilsson, Holger Hanson, Ake
Olofsson
Copenhagen Quartet (1978)
The Copenhagen Quartet: Tutter Givskov, Mogens Durhoim, Mogens Bruun, Asger
Lund Christiansen
Visit Quartet (1993)
The Oslo String Quartet: Geir Inge Lotsberg, Per Kristian Skalstad, Are
Sandbakken, Oystein Sonstad
ICELAND MUSIC INFORMATION CENTRE ITM 7-11 [69.51]
This disc is oddly balanced. Nothing wrong with the recording quality. What
disconcerts is the juxtaposing of a work like Kisum with three string
quartets. The clarinet work Kisum is a concerto in all but
name. It reminded me of Thea Musgrave's clarinet concerto - the one recorded
on a Decca Headline LP way back in the early 1970s. It is a work of rattling
and dazzling virtuosity. Continuity of line is not however its forte and
while some of its packed incidents are attractive (there are some superb
fanfares and clarion calls from the soloist) in themselves it communicates
as a concatenation of events without underpinning linkage. I must not neglect
the extremely attractive 'piano dance' movement which suggests that the composer
was also paying coruscating tribute to de Falla's Nights in the Gardens
of Spain.
The three string quartets (named but not numbered - shades of Daniel Jones
here) show unequivocal mastery. They start with the Shostakovich inflected
soul-chill and earnestness of Hässelby. The recording's
technical dimension serves up a sound that is extremely close without being
oppressive. This is a remarkable work with ear-screechingly loud pizzicati
and the message of a sap-oozingly warm Icelandic summer day. The other two
quartets (Copenhagen and Visit) link to the Bridge
String Quartets Numbers 3 and 4 but with yet greater stress on asperity.
The composer has not completely resisted the blandishments of the 1960s Polish
vanguard with their skittering, swoops and slides but his material is always
strong in the melodic grain and time after time that staggeringly vivacious
recording quality wins over the listener. Sigbjörnnsson is not to be
dismissed. He does not have Leifs' oxymoronic combination of bluntness and
timelessness. What he does have is an uncivilised vitality. Not to be missed.
Do not be put off by Kisum. Go straight to the string quartets.
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/
