No one can claim that Icelandic music has been neglected; the country's strong contemporary music scene, fueled in part by an excellent system of music education, has gained international attention. Ice Land: The Eternal Music, though, is something different: the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and its conductor, Graham Ross, focus exclusively on Icelandic music. Most of it is choral, but there are a few instrumental pieces and a pair showcasing the creamy voice of soprano Carolyn Sampson. The beauty of Ross' program is ...
Read More
No one can claim that Icelandic music has been neglected; the country's strong contemporary music scene, fueled in part by an excellent system of music education, has gained international attention. Ice Land: The Eternal Music, though, is something different: the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and its conductor, Graham Ross, focus exclusively on Icelandic music. Most of it is choral, but there are a few instrumental pieces and a pair showcasing the creamy voice of soprano Carolyn Sampson. The beauty of Ross' program is that it finds a thread linking the contemporary language of Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, the more traditional Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, the rock avant-garde of Sigur Rós, and various mixtures of these. Most of the music has a bent toward contemplativeness, a spacious sound, and a spirituality linked to nature. There is an extremely worthwhile world premiere, the Requiem mass of Sigurður Sævarsson, which could easily enter the wider choral repertory. The performances from the young Clare...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.