Back to Home Page   Music by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson for Solo Instruments
Works for piano Eos and Selene - (2006) 23 Icelandic Folk Songs - (2005/2006) Helios Hymn - (1982/1999) Divertimento in G ("Sunshine Divertimento") - (1998) 7 Portraits - (1997/1998) Piano Concerto - (1996) Earth Dragon - (1988) Piano Pieces for Beginners - (1984) Studies - (1980/1981) Toccatina - (1975)	Works for clarinet Rotundum Works for cello Dance Works for flute Partita	Works for guitar Two Phantasies for Guitar
Top of Page Works for piano   23 Icelandic Folk Songs (2005/2006). These are arrangements of Folk Songs which are preserved in The Árni Magnússon Institute in Iceland. Under the auspices of the institute, and to a certain extent in cooperation with others, especially the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, a great amount of folkloric material has been recorded on tape. Information about the folkloric collection is available on the website of The Árni Magnússon Institute and from there it is possible to click on Folklore Database (or click here) and listen to hundreds of melodies, including the ones I have arranged for piano. So far, very little research has been done on the songs preserved in the Institute's collection. As I listened to the melodies my interest lay not in discovering the "oldest", or the most "pure". I simply chose songs that appealed to me musically, and which I thought would make good material for piano arrangements. Sometimes a song has only one specific text. Text and music are in those cases inextricably linked and the text may even influence the form of the music directly. It also happens, however, that many different texts are sung with one and the same melody. In those instances music and text are not linked and I could choose a title from among many possibilities. Most of my arrangements are meant to be suitable concert material but they could also be used for teaching purposes. The first pieces are very easy to play, even for beginners, but gradually they become more difficult and the last pieces in the collection could be performed by fairly advanced students. - S.S.B. (2006) 23 Icelandic Folk Songs - the score (pdf). The 23 titles are as follows: 1. The Sleeping Calf 2. Lalli Two Step 3. Little Socks 4. Those Who Know 5. Hear Now My Heart 6. Oh, My Little Boy 7. No Road Too Long 8. Sleep for Mama 9. Where Life and Death May Dwell 10. A Hat for a Herring 11. The Boy and the Girl 12. The Hungry Innocent 13. The Ogre 14. There Goes Björn 15. What the Little Lamb Said 16. Violent Waves 17. Iceland, Freedom is Now 18. The Unjust Knight 19. A Hero at Sea 20. Oh Good Father, Mother, Brother 21. The Ogress 22. Look up, Gilsbakki Men 23. Come to Me These Christmas Nights     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eos and Selene This piece was commissioned by EPTA, Iceland division, for its Piano Competition 2006. According to Greek mythology, Eos and Selene were sisters. Both of them were known for their countless love affairs. Eos was the personification of the dawn and she was depicted as a goddess whose rosy fingers opened the gates of heaven to the chariot of the Sun. She was the mother of the four winds and also of the Stars. Selene was the moon goddess. She had three daughters with Zeus and her seduction of the shepard Endymion resulted in the birth of fifty daughters. Eos and Selene - score (pdf) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Helios was composed in 2003. It was commissioned by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in Britain and published in an anthology called Spectrum 4 (2005). Spectrum 4 was compiled by Thalia Myers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Studies (1980-1981). The composer gave the first performance of this work at a midnight concert on June 21st 1981. Studies are dedicated to Hreinn Fridfinnson The movements of this piece were inspired by the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Some of the titles used are the same as those of corresponding cards, some were invented by the composer himself. The work consists of the following 21 movements:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI	Juggling Veil Nature The Emperor The Pope Crossroads A Line Tightrope Dance Nine The Wheel of Fortune Lady Lion Tamer True Love Death of the Juggler The Angel Logic The Defeat of Logic Hope The Moon Gold Trumpet An Elf from a Luminous Land	The beginning of movement I The beginning of movement II The beginning of movement III The beginning of movement IV The beginning of movement V The beginning of movement VI The beginning of movement VII The beginning of movement VIII The beginning of movement IX The beginning of movement X The beginning of movement XI The beginning of movement XII The beginning of movement XIII The beginning of movement XIV The beginning of movement XV The beginning of movement XVI The beginning of movement XVII The beginning of movement XVIII The beginning of movement XIX The beginning of movement XX The beginning of movement XXI
Studies for piano have been published on LP (ITM 5-06) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of Page Piano Pieces for Beginners 25 pieces in 4 volumes. (see: Music for Beginners)
Earth Dragon This piece was composed in the year of the Earth Dragon (1988) at the request of pianist Jónas Ingimundarson to whom it is dedicated. The work is in one movement and the duration is 6 minutes. Jónas Ingimundarson gave the first performance of Earth Dragon in 1988 in Siglufjördur in the north of Iceland. Earth Dragon - Score (pdf) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of Page Piano Concerto (see: Orchestral Works) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of Page 7 Portraits. These pieces were composed in 1997 and 1998. Each portrait is independent but in a certain sense they all stand together, and the whole series is dedicated to Jón Nordal. Portrait no. 2 was first performed in in the summer of 1997 and no. 1 and 3 the following winter but the Portraits in their entirety were first performed at Kjarvalsstaðir (Reykjavik Art Museum). At the invitation of Kjarvalsstaðir Birgisson's piano music and artist Halldór Ásgeirsson's art work and performances coexisted in the museum for a few weeks in the autumn of 1998. In connection with this event a CD (SMK12) was published by Smekkleysa. It contains 7 portraits by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson played on the piano by the composer. (Total recording time: 54'44''). The CD is accompanied by a Book of Images by artist Halldór Ásgeirsson. Portrait no.1: First page of the score Portrait no.2: First page of the score Portrait no.3: First page of the score Portrait no.4: First page of the score Portrait no.5: First page of the score Portrait no.6: First page of the score Portrait no.7: First page of the score 7 Portraits were printed in 2001. Those who would like to receive a free copy of the book are welcome to contact the composer directly (address, e-mail, telephone). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of Page Divertimento in G ("Sunshine Divertimento") This piece was composed in 1998 and is dedicated to Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson on his sixtieth birthday. The piece has 3 movements which are all based on melodies from Icelandic manuscripts which are preserved in the National Library of Iceland. The 3 movements are all in G (G = Sol and sól in Icelandic means sun or sunshine) and since the sun was shining all the time around Thorkell's birthday (July 16th) the title of the piece seemed to suggest itself (in Icelandic it is Divertimento í sól). The piece is approximately 6 minutes long and it was premiered by the composer in August 1998 in Reykjavík. Divertimento in G ("Sunshine Divertimento") - Score (pdf) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of Page Hymn This piece was originally composed for string orchestra (1982). The composer has made several arrangements of it for various groups. This arrangement for piano was made in 1999 and the composer gave the first performance that same year in the Nordic House in Reykjavík. The piece consists of 11 very short movements which are all in the Mixolydian mode and are played very slowly. This piano-version of Hymn for piano is dedicated to the composer's parents. Hymn for piano - score (pdf) -------------------------------------------- Toccatina (1975). This is a short work (ca. 4'). It is dedicated to the composer's grandfather Snorri Sigfússon. The composer gave the first performance in the Nordic House 1976(?). Toccatina - score (pdf) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Top of Page Works for clarinet     Rotundum This piece was composed from 1978 to January 1979. It is approximately 21 minutes long, in one movement, and is dedicated to the clarinetist Óskar Ingólfsson who premiered it in Amsterdam in the spring of 1979. The title Rotundum was borrowed from alchemists who sometimes used this word to describe a certain consolidation or purification which took place in their test tubes. Some say, that the alchemists were not merely searching for gold, but that their search and the longing to understand the soul gradually became one and the same thing, until finally matter was the same as spirit, gold the same as inner peace. Top of Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Works for cello   Dance consists of 9 movements of which the first is by far the longest. The remaining 8 movements (2.-9.) are very short fragments or "moments". The performer of Dance should invariably start with the first movement but it is not necessary to play each and every one of the remaining 8 movements. It is left to the discretion of the performer to decide how many of these to play and in which order. For example, the order of movements might be as follows: 1.-5.-6.-8.-7.-9. Dance was composed in 1981/1982 and is dedicated to Nora Kornblueh who gave the first performance in Amsterdam in 1982. Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttur (dancer) and Sigurður Halldórsson (cellist) have choreographed a dance piece (Vision for a dancer and a cellist) which is based on Dance for cello. Gunnarsdóttir and Halldórsson performed their work in The Reykjavik City Theater in 2003. Costumes were designed by Stefanía Adolfsdóttir and Kári Gíslason was the lighting designer. Dance - The score (pdf) Top of Page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Works for flute Partita This piece was composed in 1997 and is dedicated to the flutist Martial Nardeau who gave the first performance on April 25th 1998, in the Nordic House in Reykjavik. The piece consists of 10 movements which are played with little or no pause between them. A 6 note chord is produced from the flute player's first name (M(i)-a-r(e)-ti-(f)a-l(a bémol)) and the tonal material of the entire composition is derived from this chord which also happens to be a favorite of the composer. The piece is approximately 11 minutes long. Partita - The score (pdf) Top of Page   Works for guitar Two Phantasies for Guitar This work was composed in the summer of 2003 for Pétur Jónasson who gave the first performance on Febrary 9th 2004. Two Phantasies are conceived as a whole but each of the two movements can be performed seperately. Two Phantasies for Guitar - The score (pdf).
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