The Geyser Erupts
Donald Macleod experiences the vast sonic eruptions of the 'original' geyser at Geysir, Iceland and introduces works by Jon Leifs portraying his nation's unique landscape.
Donald Macleod experiences the vast sonic eruptions of the 'original' geyser at Geysir, Iceland - and introduces works by Jón Leifs portraying his nation's unique landscape.
For more than a millennium, Iceland's composers have drawn upon the sounds of its unique geology: sounds created in a glacial, geothermal landscape like nowhere else on earth. Searing water explodes from fissures; the earth steams spongily underfoot; vast, electric-blue hunks of solid ice crack and collide as they bob down otherwise silent fjords. Yet Iceland's classical music tradition remains barely known. This week, Donald Macleod explores the landscapes and vistas of the world's most northerly island nation - to discover its unique musical culture.
Jón Leifs' symphonic poem "Geysir" portrays the awe-inspiring geothermal eruption of one of his nation's most famous natural wonders. Donald Macleod pays a visit to Geysir to introduce Leifs' own highly-imaginative musical explosion, before discussing the composer's dramatic, experimental organ concerto - described by one critic as "like Bach walking on the tundra" - with the musicologist Árni Heimir Ingólfsson. He ends with a series of pieces by Icelandic music's provocateur-in-chief, the wickedly mischievous Atli Heimir Sveinsson - a composer able and willing to compose in almost any style, from Baroque to avant-garde to hip hop - ending with Sveinsson's bizarre and beguiling postmodernist fantasy, "Icelandic Rap".
Jón Leifs: Geysir, Op 51
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)
Jón Leifs: Two Songs, Op 15
Igveldur Yr Jonsdóttir (mezzo)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Anne Manson (conductor)
Jón Leifs: Organ Concerto, Op 7
Björn Steinar Sólbergsson (organ)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, En Shao (conductor)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson: Intermezzo No 1 (Dimmalimm)
Benedikte Johansen (flute), Thomas Jensen (harp)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson: Af hreinu hjarta
Suzanne Kessel (piano)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson: Icerapp
Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra, Bernharður Wilson (conductor).
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Music Played
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Jón Leifs
Geysir - Prelude Op 51
Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: Osmo Vänskä.- BIS: CD830BIS.
- BIS.
- 1.
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Jón Leifs
Geysir Op.51
Orchestra: Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Osmo Vänskä.- BIS: CD830BIS.
- 1.
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Jón Leifs
Geysir - Prelude Op 51
Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: Osmo Vänskä.- BIS: CD830BIS.
- BIS.
- 1.
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Jón Leifs
2 Songs Op 15
Singer: Ingveldur Ýr Jónsdóttir. Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: Anne Manson.- BIS: CD1050.
- BIS.
- 2.
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Jón Leifs
Two Songs, Op.15
Orchestra: Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Anne Manson. Singer: Ingveldur Ýr Jónsdóttir.- BIS CD1050.
- 2-3.
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Jón Leifs
2 Songs Op 15
Singer: Ingveldur Ýr Jónsdóttir. Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: Anne Manson.- BIS: CD1050.
- BIS.
- 2.
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Jón Leifs
Concerto Op 7
Performer: Björn Steinar Sólbergsson. Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: En Shao.- BIS: CD930BIS.
- BIS.
- 1.
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Jón Leifs
Organ Concerto, Op.7
Performer: Björn Steinar Sólbergsson. Orchestra: Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: En Shao.- BIS CD930.
- 1.
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Jón Leifs
Concerto Op 7
Performer: Björn Steinar Sólbergsson. Orchestra: Iceland S O. Conductor: En Shao.- BIS: CD930BIS.
- BIS.
- 1.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Dimmalimm - Intermezzo no 1
Performer: Benedikte Johansen. Performer: Thomas Norup Jensen.- TALENT: TLN29.
- TALENT.
- 15.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Intermezzo no.1 from Dimmalimm
Performer: Benedikte Johansen. Performer: Thomas Jensen.- TALENT TLN29.
- 15.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Dimmalimm - Intermezzo no 1
Performer: Benedikte Johansen. Performer: Thomas Norup Jensen.- TALENT: TLN29.
- TALENT.
- 15.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Af Hreinu Hjarta [with A Pure Heart]
Performer: Susanne Kessel.- OEHMS: OC813.
- OEHMS.
- 6.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Af hreinu hjarta
Performer: Susanne Kessel.- OEHMS OC813.
- 6.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Af Hreinu Hjarta [with A Pure Heart]
Performer: Susanne Kessel.- OEHMS: OC813.
- OEHMS.
- 6.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Icerapp [icelandic Rap]
Orchestra: Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Bernhardur Wilson.- SMEKKLEYSA: SMK24.
- SMEKKLEYSA.
- 13.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Icerapp
Orchestra: Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Bernharour Wilson.- SMEKKLEYSA SMK24.
- 13.
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Atli Heimir Sveinsson
Icerapp [icelandic Rap]
Orchestra: Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Bernhardur Wilson.- SMEKKLEYSA: SMK24.
- SMEKKLEYSA.
- 13.
Broadcasts
- Tue 10 Dec 2013 12:00ĢƵ Radio 3
- Tue 10 Dec 2013 18:30ĢƵ Radio 3
- Tue 15 Dec 2015 12:00ĢƵ Radio 3
- Tue 15 Dec 2015 18:30ĢƵ Radio 3
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