In Scherzo concreto, Jón Leifs assigns each of the 'seven persons' (e.g., the Buffoon, the Leader, the Lover) distinctive musical characteristics, with the Leader's part consisting entirely of parallel fifths, a feature of Icelandic folk music.
Compositional Technique
In the final movement of Elegies, 'Sea Poem,' Jón Leifs systematically delineates musical 'characters' through different performing forces, with the mezzo-soprano suggesting a divine presence, the male chorus representing dramatic personae, and the solo violin portraying his daughter, Líf.
Performer Biography
Rut Ingólfsdóttir, a prominent figure in Icelandic music, was a co-founder and leader of the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra until 2010 and has received several distinctions, including the Icelandic Order of the Falcon and the French Légion d'honneur.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Jón Leifs' Elegies, Op. 35, is part of a series of 'Kindertotenlieder' (songs for dead children) composed in memory of his daughter, Líf, through which he sought reconciliation and forgiveness.
Composition History
Jón Leifs' Scherzo concreto was composed as a response to a lecture by American composer Gunther Schuller on 'new currents in American and European music'.
Composition History
Jón Leifs composed his Elegies, Op. 35, in 1947, shortly after the tragic drowning death of his younger daughter, Líf, off the coast of Sweden.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs' chamber music consists of only two original works and an arrangement of his Beethoven Variations, as his main focus was large orchestral works.
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