The Yggdrasil Quartet, formed in 1990, specializes in Nordic chamber music and has studied with notable figures like György Kurtág and Norbert Brainin of the Amadeus Quartet.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Jón Leifs, an Icelandic composer, aimed to give Iceland its own musical identity, drawing inspiration from its landscape, sagas, and traditional songs rather than imported European traditions.
Historical Context
Jón Leifs's music struggled for recognition due to practical barriers, as Iceland lacked established musical traditions or symphony orchestras, making performances difficult to arrange.
Instruments
The violin I on this recording is a Nicolaus Gagliano from Naples, 1735, played by Fredrik Paulsson.
Compositional Technique
Leifs incorporated elements from medieval Icelandic liturgical song (tvísöngur) and the asymmetric, heavily accented metrics of rímur folk-songs into his musical language.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs, with his Jewish wife and two daughters, was forced to flee Hitler's Germany to Sweden, where his work initially received no interest.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs constructed new sound sources from stones, wood, metal, and leather, and later added the bronze horn to his expanding instrument collection.
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