|
Eco del passato (1988) for flute and harpsichord. 10 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 1988, Áshildur Haraldsdottir flute, Anna M. Magnúsdottir harpsichord.
Eco del passato (Echoes of the Past) was composed in 1988 for the Icelandic flutist Áshildur Haraldsdóttir. The piece consists of four movements, each of which works with a characteristic pattern which is developed akin to what we see in baroque suites.
Ether (1988) for violoncello. 6 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 1989, Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir.
The piece explores the interaction of three very slow waves which conduct density and degree of agitation in different parameters. This means that the rhythm f.ex. moves gradually from even steady notes to very active nervous motives and then back again. Another wave conducts how the music slowly moves form the lowest notes of the instrument up to the highest register and down again. A third wave controls how complex the pitch material is at each moment. Rather than only producing a wave-like facade, these oscillations create a constantly but slowly shifting point of focus. In the latter half of the piece these waves become temporarily disturbed or paralyzed. Ether was composed for cellist Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir in 1988, who gave the first performance in Reykjavík in 1989.
Attempted Convergence
(1991/2004) for woodwind quintet. 15 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 1991, Reykjavík Woodwind Quintet.
Instrumentation: Flute (piccolo), oboe, clarinet in Bb, French horn, bassoon.
Attempted Convergence consist of 11 attempts at unification with mixed results. The piece could also be described as having 6 sections in the form: A B A C B C, where A are the most chaotic sections, the B sections are quiet and static and C has the most rhythmical activity, almost dance-like, but with very irregular pulse. Attempted Convergence was commissioned by the Reykjavík Woodwind Quintet for their tenth anniversary. The music was revised in 2004 for a performance by Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Trio Animato (1993/2005) for clarinet in Bb, cello and doublebass, or viola, cello and double bass. 9 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 1993, Caput Ensemble.
Trio Animato was composed for the Caput Ensemble in 1993. Written for clarinet in Bb, cello and contrabass the approx. 10 minute long piece consists of six sections which play with voice idendity and various degrees of heterophony and polyphony. The viola version was made in 2005.
|
Piano Trio (1997/2005) for violin, cello and piano. 9 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 2002, Trio Nordica.
The Piano Trio was composed in 1997 for the icelandic/swedish Trio Nordica, who gave the first performance in Reykjavik. The music was revised in 2005 for Athelas. The trio is in one movement, dealing with transitions or jumps from the aethereal to the solid, using symmetrical rhythms and movements which convergerge and diverge.
Long Shadow (1998) for three violins, viola, two cellos and double bass, or two violins, viola, cello and double bass, or string quartet. 14 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavik 2001, Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra.
Long Shadow was composed in 1998 and was originally scored for three violins, viola, two celli and doublebass. The music was arranged for string quintet and string quartet in 2002. The composition is based on material from icelandic folksongs. Instead of harmonizing a melody a very small element is taken from the songs and made into a kind of prime idea for a whole movement. Therefore these are farfetched variations and the original song is unrecognizable.
Score (pdf) (first movement)
Kópía (1999) for seven players. 36 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavik 2000, Caput Ensemble, Gudni Franzson.
Instrumentation: Flute, horn, guitar (el. and acc.), harpsichord, accordeon, viola and double bass.
Originally six movements and taking 45 minutes, the piece was revised in 2002 and contains five movements. Fluctuations, Insertion, Links, Dèja vu and Bits. All deal with different types of repetition and variation.
Pendulum (2000) for cello solo. 2 minutes.
First performance: Recorded for DVD, Amsterdam 2000, Eduard van Regteren Altena, cello.
Composed for a video by the japanese artist Yahoi Kusama. Released on DVD by Bifrons Foundation Amsterdam.
Spring Chicken (2001) for clarinet solo. 3 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 2002, Gudni Franzson.
Dedicated to Gudni Franzson.
Listen (mp3) / Score (pdf)
Broken Chords (2003) for piano solo. 8 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 2003, Xibei Zhang.
Commissioned by the Icelandic Section of European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) for their piano competition. The music is in a constant flux since no fixed rhythms or motives are used, everything undergoes constant variation.
Score (pdf) |
String Quartet 2003 (2003) 11 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík 2004, Hugo String Quartet.
The quartet deals with four types of musical material; short mechanical phrases, sustained chords, solo-activity and finally unirhythm. This material is organized into twenty sections that make up one dense, heterophonic movement.
Vetrarkvíði (2005) for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello and electronics. 9 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík February 2006, Caput Ensemble, Daniel Bjarnason.
Vetrarkvídi was composed in the fall of 2005 but originates in a sketch
I made a few years back, inspired by a natural phenomena called Vetrarkvídi. Vetrarkvídi means winter´s dread or apprehension. The word is used for spider threads that are sometimes visible in grass fields in late summer and are believed to bode a hard winter. Last fall I fabricated a web from this sketch with no help from spiders and so the title gets a new meaning. The original sketch can be heard at the end of the piece when the flutist plays so-called whistle tones on his
instrument. The electronic sounds are mostly reworkings of fragments from my own music and create resonance for the ensemble. Vetrarkvídi was composed for Caput and is dedicated to its members.
Reaction (2006) for accordion and double bass. 10 minutes.
First performance: Kópavogur January 2007, Eva Zöllner and Kristján Orri Sigurleifsson.
Glacial Pace (2008) for piano solo.
7 minutes.
First performance: Reykjavík November 5 2008, Snorri Sigfús Birgisson.
Commissioned by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson with support from the Musica Nova Fund.
Score (pdf)
Skak (2009) for clarinet in Bb and piano.
9 minutes.
First performance: Kirkjubæjarklaustur August 7, Guðni Franzson clarinet and Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttir píanó.
Skak (2009/2011) for clarinet in Bb, cello and piano.
9 minutes.
First performance: Hof, Akureyri, April 14, 2011. Guðni Franzson clarinet, Sigurður Halldórsson cello and Daníel Þorsteinsson píanó.
|
