Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a family name, but this person is referred to by the given name Þorkell.

Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (or Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson) (16 July 1938 – 30 January 2013) was an Icelandic composer, conductor and pianist. The most prolific Icelandic composer, he is author of more than 350 works, from songs for children to orchestral works.[1]

Early life and study

Born in Reykjavík, the son of bishop Sigurbjörn Einarsson and his wife, Magnea Þorkelsdóttir, he graduated from Reykjavík High School in 1957. He then moved to the United States to study at Hamline University in Minnesota, ultimately graduating in 1961 from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Among his teachers there were Lejaren Hiller and Kenneth Gaburo.[2] He returned to Iceland in 1962, and hosted a regular radio show on RÚV for many years.[3]

Career

Þorkell taught piano, musicology, and music history at the Reykjavík College of Music for many years. He was also chair of the Icelandic Composers' Society from 1983 to 1987, sat for a time on the board of the Association of Icelandic Musicians and was president of the Association of Icelandic Artists from 1982 to 1986.[4] He died in Kópavogur. He is best known for composing music (in 1973) for the 13th-century Icelandic hymn, Heyr, himna smiður.[5]

While Þorkell's earliest works exhibit the influence of serialism and atonality, his music from around 1970 onwards is characterized by a style that might be called "moderate modernism".[6] He frequently uses ostinato patterns and his music is often grounded in modality. Also, his works frequently exhibit his interest in Icelandic folk song and music history, for example Hans Variations for piano (1979, based on a seventeenth-century tune from the Melódía manuscript) and Recessional for choir (1981), the text of which comes from the Icelandic plainchant office for Saint Thorlak. Some of his other works employ extended performance techniques, such as Kalaïs for solo flute (1976), which was written for the Canadian flautist Robert Aitken and remains one of Þorkell's most performed instrumental works.[7] He also wrote much sacred music, including hymns, Te Deum (1973), Missa Brevis (1992), as well as a large-scale oratorio, Immanúel (1999).[8]

Awards

In 1993, Þorkell was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon for his contributions to the field of music. On 16 May 1995 he was named a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.[9]

Selected works

  • Gerviblómið (Chamber opera in three scenes, 1964)
  • Apaspil (Children's opera, 1966)
  • String Quartet, Hässelby (1968)
  • KISUM for clarinet, viola, and piano (1970)
  • Der wohltemperierte Pianist (1971)
  • Mistur for orchestra (1972)
  • Mild und (meistens) leise for solo cello (1973)
  • Heyr, himna smiður for mixed choir (1973)
  • Kalaïs for solo flute (1976)
  • Hans Variations for solo piano (1979)
  • Euridice for flute and orchestra (1979)
  • Recessional for mixed choir (1981)
  • Columbine for flute and orchestra (1982)
  • Immanúel, oratorio for soloists, choir, and orchestra (1999)

References

  1. ^ Biographie on fabermusic.com
  2. ^ Bjarki Sveinbjörnsson (1997). "Tónlist á Íslandi á 20. öld". musik.is. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  3. ^ Finch, Hilary (2001). "Sigurbjörnsson, Thorkell". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25754. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson". Ísmús (in Icelandic). 16 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. ^ Árni Heimir Ingólfsson (2023). "Heyr himna smiður: Iceland's Favorite Hymn". arniheimir.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  6. ^ Whittall, Arnold (1999). Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 180. ISBN 9780198166849.
  7. ^ Finch, Hilary (2001). "Sigurbjörnsson, Thorkell". Grove Music Online. Archived from the original on 18 Aug 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  8. ^ Taylor, Kristín Jónína Taylor (2022). "Now the Sun Sinks in the Sea: The Sacred Works of Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson" (PDF). Athens Journal of Humanities and the Arts. 9 (4): 291–306.
  9. ^ Pia Nyström; Kyhlberg-Boström Anna; Elmquist Anne-Marie (1996). Musikaliska akademien (ed.). Kungl. Musikaliska akademien: matrikel 1771-1995. Kungl. Musikaliska akademiens skriftserie (in Swedish) (2 ed.). Stockholm: Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien. ISBN 91-85428-99-X. ISSN 0347-5158. OCLC 185870197.


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