Jón Leifs, an Icelandic composer, traveled throughout Iceland between 1925 and 1928 to record Icelandic folk songs using a phonograph.
Interpretation
The performer, Benedikt Kristjánsson, matched the key of each Icelandic folk song to the key of the subsequent Franz Schubert Lied to create a cohesive program.
Compositional Technique
The folk song "Ísland farsælda frón" and Schubert's "Auf dem Strom" are performed with voice and horn, with the voice and horn 'singing' in parallel fifths in the folk song.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs, an Icelandic musician, studied piano and composition in Leipzig and was a sought-after conductor in Germany and Nordic countries in the 1920s.
Album & Artwork
The album combines folk songs from Iceland with Lieder by Franz Schubert, aiming to create a song cycle that explores themes of longing, love, suffering, and nature.
Performer Biography
Tillmann Höfs, the horn player on this album, was the first horn player in 33 years to win the German Music Competition in 2017.
Composer Biography
Bjarni Þorsteinsson, an Icelandic composer and parish priest, spent 25 years collecting Icelandic folk songs, publishing them in his 1906 book Íslensk Þjóðlög.
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