• Recitals

3. Sep, 2023

He Is Like Spring

Set to poems by twelve poets

Twelve songs by Thorvaldur Gylfason set to poems by twelve poets

He Is Like Spring is a collection of twelve songs by Thorvaldur Gylfason set to poems by twelve poets: Guðmundur Böðvarsson, Hulda, Hannes Pétursson, Einar Ólafur Sveinsson, Bragi Sigurjónsson, Anna Akhmatova, Hannes Hafstein, Valtýr Guðmundsson, Thorsteinn Gíslason, Vilmundur Gylfason, Kristján Karlsson og Hallgrímur Helgason. Six of the songs have appeared in print, including three as choral pieces. Four of them have been heard in public before, while the others will be heard here for the first time. Thórir Baldursson arranged two of the songs.

Lilja Guðmundsdóttir soprano, Bjarni Thor Kristinsson bass, and Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttirdóttir piano  performed the songs at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík 3. september 2023. The composer briefly introduced each number. The concert was recorded for radio and television.

 

PROGRAM

  1. Kyssti mig sól (Guðmundur Böðvarsson) – Lilja
  2. Hestum var áð … (Guðmundur Böðvarsson) – Bjarni
  3. Hver á sér fegra föðurland (Hulda) – Lilja
  4. Bláir eru dalir þínir (Hannes Pétursson) – Bjarni
  5. Er sem allt íslenzkt (Einar Ólafur Sveinsson) – Lilja
  6. Ævintýri (Bragi Sigurjónsson) – Bjarni
  7. Ekki land mitt (Anna Akhmatova, þýð. Regína Stefnisdóttir) – Bjarni
  8. Blessuð sólin elskar allt/Kveðja (Hannes Hafstein/Valtýr Guðmundsson) – Lilja og Bjarni
  9. Fyrstu vordægur (Thorsteinn Gíslason) – Lilja and Bjarni
  10. Hann er eins og vorið (Vilmundur Gylfason) – Lilja and Bjarni
  11. Matthildur húsfreyja í Miðgerði (Kristján Karlsson) – Lilja and Bjarni
  12. Egilsstaðir – Lilja and Bjarni

     ________
     13.  Blessuð sértu borgin mín (Þorvaldur Gylfason o.fl.) – Lilja and Bjarni

Collaborators

Thorvaldur Gylfason

Composer

Thorvaldur Gylfason has composed more than 100 songs, including Seventeen Sonnets on the Philosophy of the Heart, Songs of Soaring Birds, Seven Psalms, and Sixteen Songs for Soprano and Tenor set to poetry by Kristján Hreinsson og Five Seasons set to poems by Snorri Hjartarson. The sonnets were premiered in Harpa 2012 and 2013, the bird songs in Salurinn in Kópavogur and in Berg in Dalvík 2014 and broadcast on RÚV 2020, the psalms in Langholtskirkja 2014 og Guðríðarkirkja 2015 og Sixteen Songs and Five Seasons in Hannesarholt 2017 and Five Seasons were also broadcast on RÚV 2021. His Italian Songbook was performed in Iceland and Italy 2022 and The Summer Journey is scheduled for performance in Reykjavík in late 2022.

Lilja Guðmundsdóttir

Soprano

Lilja Guðmundsdóttir soprano grew up in Kópasker in Northern Iceland and studied in Akureyri and Reykjavík before moving to Austria where she graduated with the highest marks from the master´s program at Konservatorium Wien, Privatuniversität 2015. She has performed as a soloist with Salon Islandus, The Festival Orchestra Wien, and The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and has sung at home and abroad in operas by Bizet, Britten, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, and Stravinsky. Also, she has performed in a large number of concerts in Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, and Germany in addition to Iceland.

Bjarni Thor Kristinsson

Bass

Bjarni Thor Kristinsson bass has sung a large number of operatic roles around the world, such as in Beijing, Berlin, Chicago, Dresden, Venice, Florence, Hamburg, Köln, Lisbon, München, Naples, Palermo, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Verona, and Vienna. His repertoire includes eleven roles in nine Wagner operas in addition to roles in operas by Beethoven, Donizetti, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Strauss and others. Kristinsson is also a lieder singer and served for a long time as the artistic director of the long-running concert series Perlur íslenskra sönglaga (Pearls of Icelandic Art Song) in Harpa. He can be heard in numerous recordings as well as in the television program Átta raddir (Eight Voices).

Eva Thyri Hilmarsdóttir

Piano

Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttir began studying piano at the age of 6 with her mother, Guðrúna Guðmundsdóttir, but graduated from the Reykjavík Conservatory of Music and continued her studies at Indiana University. Ástríður has performed in many concerts, either as a soloist or with other musicians. She is a member of the Elektra Ensemble and the tango group Fimm í tango. In 2012, she released the solo album CHOPIN. Another CD, ALDARBLIK, with her and the singers Eyjólfur Eyjólfsson and Ágúst Ólafsson has also been released. Ástríður Alda teaches at Hafnarfjörður Music School.