The Icelandic Songbook
The Icelandic Songbook (Íslenska söngvabókin) contains 39 songs for high voice and piano, published in 2023. It comprises two parts, Sixteen Songs for Soprano and Tenor, premiered at Hannesarholt in Reykjavík in 2017, and The Summer Journey, premiered at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík in 2022. A studio recording of all 39 songs was issued simultaneously on two discs by Polarfonia Classics. The box shown below contains two volumes with 250 pages of sheet music plus two CDs with the music. The CD edition contains a 90+ page booklet including English translations of the poetry, brief commentaries by the composer and the poet, and short bios of all concerned. Performers: Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir soprano, Elmar Gilbertsson tenor, and Snorri Sigfús Birgisson piano.
Opernwelt reviewed the discs in its March issue 2026. Jan Verheyen concludes his review, Mein ewiger Traum, thus: “In solchen Momenten wünscht man sich nur eines: in Island zu sein, umgeben von leise vor sich hinmurmelnden Vulkanen und sprudelnden Quellen, und diesem Lied zu lauschen.” (In English: In moments like these, one wishes for only one thing: to be in Iceland, surrounded by softly murmuring volcanoes and bubbling springs, listening to this song.) The song in question is My eternal dream. Sea also Colin Clarke´s forthcoming review in Fanfare.
