Duo Concordia is made up of Icelandic musicians Laufey Sigurðardóttir (violin) and Páll Eyjólfsson (guitar), who have performed together for years, establishing an appealing rapport both with one another and with the composers with whom they regularly collaborate. This release features Icelandic contemporary music composed specifically for the duo, and for each performer as soloist.

Icelandic contemporary music has come into focus in recent years, with composers such as Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Academy Award-winner Hildur Guðnadóttir drawing the world’s attention towards this country’s rich musical culture. Duo Concordia shines the spotlight on a number of other Icelandic trailblazers, including Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, the first Icelandic composer to introduce electronics into his scores. We hear Jóhannsson’s Sonorities VI for solo violin, written especially for Laufey Sigurðardóttir. Tryggvi M. Baldvinsson has been nominated for the Icelandic Music Award 2020, and was commissioned by the duo to write a Sonatina, a work that ranges from avant garde techniques to ethereal sonorities. Hilmar Thórdarson is a pioneer of electronic techniques, but also draws upon ancient Norse sources for inspiration, as in Gefjun, composed for Duo Concordia and taking its name from a Norse goddess of fertility. Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson composed Vapp for Duo Concordia, a timeless, pastoral piece emulating birds delicately scurrying across the ground. The release also features music by English composer John A. Speight, a student of Richard Rodney Bennett. We hear Samtvinna, composed for the duo in 2013, and Speight’s retelling of the Opheus myth, the haunting and colourful solo guitar piece Echoes ofOrpheus, premiered by Páll Eyjólfsson soon after it was composed.

• 1. Baldvinsson: Sonata (2006) I. Molto Agitato
• 2. Baldvinsson: Sonata (2006) Ii. Elegia
• 3. Thordarson: Gefjun (2000)
• 4. Sigurbjornsson: Vapp (1993)
• 5. Speight: Samtvinna (2013)
• 6. Speight: Bergmal Orfeusar (1986) I. Allegro Vivace
• 7. Speight: Bergmal Orfeusar (1986) Ii. Lamentoso
• 8. Speight: Bergmal Orfeusar (1986) Iii. Quasi Tarantella
• 9. Johansson: Sonorities Vi. For Solo Violin (1990)