Cellist Guðný Jónasdóttir (Gudny Jonasdottir) commissioned me to write this, my first fantasy, based on a choral melody we both love and is fairly well known in Iceland, Hjá lygnri móðu (By a calm stream) by Jón Ásgeirsson (1928- ). Guðný developed the piece with me, adding decorations, dynamics and emotions to a sketch that would then find its way into the final score and inspire further motivic development. The result is contemplative and meditative at times, before suddenly developing to being virtuosic and passionate.
Listen here
I am currently working on a second fantasy for cello and violin based on another popular Icelandic choral melody „Heyr himna smiður“ by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson. While Hjá lygnri móðu is mainly known domestically in Iceland, Heyr himna smiður has received quite a few international performances in the last decade or so.
Premiere concert poster