Songs of soaring birds

Concert film for TV

Songs of Soaring Birds are my fourteen, now fifteen songs set to poems by poet philosopher Kristján Hreinsson. The songs are written for voice, piano, and cello, arranged by composer Thórir Baldursson. The song cycle is an ode to life and to the beauty of the heavens. 

Kristinn Sigmundsson (bass), Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir (cello), and Jónas Ingimundarson (piano) gave a sold-out premiere of the cycle in Salurinn in Kópavogur, one of the Reykjavík area’s two main concert venues, 7 September 2014. The concert was repeated in Salurinn 14 September and in Dalvík near Akureyri 21 September. The poet briefly introduced each song. The poetry was projected onto a screen behind the stage. The concert was filmed, and was aired on Icelandic State Televison (RÚV) 16 March 2020 and again 22 March and several more times thereafter, most recently in March 2025. The sheet music and the poems, also in English translation, were published 2019. The cycle is scheduled to be performed again in Harpa 11 January 2026 by Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir (mezzosoprano), Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir (cello), and Hrönn Thráinsdóttir (piano). See trailer below.