Icelandic Folk Song Suite No. 2
General Info
Year: 2014 / 2020
Duration: c. 5:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: WASBE
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $115.00
Movements
3. Krummavísur
4. Á Sprengisandi
N.B. Movements 1 and 2 may be found in Icelandic Folk Song Suite No. 1, published separately.
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Contra-Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Crash Cymbal
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
In the repertoire of concert band and wind ensemble music, the folk song suite holds deep meaning and importance. Icelandic Folk Song Suite is my contribution to that legacy in our field and is, very much at its heart, a love letter to it. This work endeavours to new musical work set [sic] in this traditional structure to celebrate making music in the concert band and wind ensemble settings.
As folk song suites often use national music as a connecting thread through it (like Vaughan William’s “English Folk Song Suite,” for example), I incorporate traditional Icelandic folk music here, and for two reasons. The first is that there isn’t much Icelandic music in our repertoire and there is room for a meaning contribution there. The second is that Icelandic music is very close to my heart. While my nationality is Canadian, my heritage is Scandinavian – primarily Icelandic, with a dash of Norwegian and Swedish.
I grew up in a small town called Gimli, Manitoba, in the prairie region of Canada. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, scores of immigrants fled Iceland escaping volcanic eruption, deterioration in the climate and growing conditions, and an epidemic infecting their sheep. Many who chose to leave and many found their way to Canada and established a colony in Manitoba called “New Iceland,” with Gimli as its main settlement – the town where I grew up.
All of the melodic material in this suite stems from four Icelandic folk songs: Ólafur Liljurós (Movement I), Bí bí og blaka (II), Krummavísur (III), and Á Sprengisandi (IV).
Krummavísur is about a raven who scours the earth for food. Every time he finds a good meal, something always gets in his way and he remains hungry for another day.
Á Sprengisandi details a man riding his horse down the Sprengisandur trail in Iceland. He implores his steed to ride faster each verse, as the road is dangerous and full of elves.
- Program Note by composer
Awards
- World Association of Symphonic Band and Ensembles (WASBE) International Composition Contest IV (2023), winner.
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Man., Can.) Concert Band (Jacquie Dawson, conductor) - 31 March 2023
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Black Bear
- Ghosts of Vimy
- Filum Vitae (2013)
- Prairie Sunset
- Prairie Wedding (2014)
- The Meeting Place (2015)
- Matters of Kindness (2018)
- Transcendent Light (2019)
- Cardinal Elements (2020)
- Icelandic Folk Song Suite No. 1 (2014/2020)
- Icelandic Folk Song Suite No. 2 (2014/2020)
- Warriors of the Air (2024)
- We Are Stars (/2024)
Resources
- Kenley Kristofferson website - 13 May 2023