Conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir and conceived during their collaboration with Björk on Utopia, ‘Come and be Joyful’ is built out from the choir’s phenomenal support set at the Cornucopia live shows, with additional tracks added following the end of the tour.
Björk herself was a member of the choir as a teenager, and as a result, has been a long-time collaborator. As such a fan of the choir’s work and completely unique sound, Björk featured them on both the Utopia album and had all 52 choristers accompany her around the world to perform at every live show during the Cornucopia tour.
‘Come and be Joyful’ features Icelandic folk songs along with two collaborative Björk covers - ‘Cosmogony’ & ‘Sonnets’, based on Björk’s own arrangements.
The Hamrahlíð Choir has been at the forefront of Icelandic musical life for more than four decades. Its members are former students at Hamrahlíð College in Reykjavík, where Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir formed a choir in 1967 and was its conductor until 2017. This was among the first college choirs in Iceland and has maintained its leading position. In 1982, Þorgerður formed the Hamrahlíð Choir, an ensemble made up of graduates of the college choir, and she has been its conductor ever since. More than 2,500 Icelandic teenagers have come into contact with classical music through the Hamrahlíð choral experience. Many of these have had no prior musical training, but through diligent practise they have gone on to participate in music-making of the highest quality, from new Icelandic compositions to the choral masterworks of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart.
Having been a breeding ground for many of Iceland’s leading singers, instrumentalists, and composers, former members of the choir include singer/songwriter Björk Guðmundsdóttir, pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, composer Haukur Tómasson (recipient of the Nordic Council Music Prize 2004), musicologist Árni Heimir Ingólfsson, and bass Kristinn Sigmundsson (a frequent guest at the Metropolitan Opera stage). Björk began her collaboration with The Hamrahlíð Choir in 2017, singing on her album Utopia, and this collaboration continued with the Cornucopia concerts at The Shed, New York City, in May and June 2019 and the Cornucopia tour of Europe In November and December 2019.
Conductor Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir studied music in Iceland, the United States, Austria, and England. She has received many prizes and awards, including the Prize of Optimism from Brøste in Copenhagen in 1983 and an award from Leonie Sonnings Music Fund in 1975. She was awarded the Order of the Knight of the Falcon by the President of Iceland in 1985 for her pioneering musical work in Iceland. In 1992 the Icelandic Performing Rights Society (STEF) granted her special recognition for the performance of Icelandic choral music. In 1992 the King of Norway appointed her a Commander of the Royal Order of Merit. In 2000 she was the director of the Voices of Europe, a multi-national youth choir made up of singers from each of that year’s nine European Cities of Culture. The choir performed throughout Europe to outstanding reviews. In 2008 Þorgerður was made an honorary member of the Society of Icelandic Musicians and in 2012 she was appointed Reykjavík City´s Honorary Artist. In 2013 she received the Honorary Award of the Icelandic Music Awards, and in 2016 she was presented with a Special Recognition Award from the University of Iceland’s School of Education, for her outstanding achievement as a teacher. In 2018 she was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Reykjavík.
A word from Björk:
"i am so incredibly grateful that the hamrahlíð choir and it's original conductor þorgerður ingólfsdóttir came on tour with me . i was myself in this choir when i was 16 and i think every single icelandic musician you have ever heard of was brought up and musically baptised by this miraculous woman . she is a legend in iceland and has guarded optimism and the light in the tumultuous times that teenagedom is . she has also encouraged and commissioned dozens of choral works from all of iceland’s most prominent composers for half a century or so . i am absolutely beyond honoured , warmthness, love and respect , björk"
credits
released December 4, 2020
Ísland, farsælda frón (Iceland, Beloved Country)
Traditional
Written by Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845)
Translated by Jóhann Hannesson
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Komdu nú að kveðast á (Make Verses, Maestro)
A Suite of Icelandic Folksongs, arr. Jón Þórarinsson (1917-2012)
Icelandic Folk Poetry
Translated by Andrew Wawn
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu (Vatnsenda-Rósa’s Verses)
Folksong, arr. Jón Ásgeirsson (b. 1928)
Written by Rósa Guðmundsdóttir (1795-1855)
Translated by Ruth L. Magnússon
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Stóðum tvö í túni (We Stood in the Meadow)
Folksong, arr. Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson (b. 1952)
Written by Víglundur Þorgrímsson (10th century)
Translated by Marianne Kalinke
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Blástjarnan (The Blue and Brightly Shining Star)
Folksong, Jón Þórarinsson, arr. for Hamrahlíðarkórinn 1976
Written by Bjarni Thorarensen (1786-1841)
Translated by Robert Cook
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Veröld fláa sýnir sig (The Deceptive World)
Folksong, Hafliði Hallgrímsson (b. 1941), arr. for Þorgerður 1988
Written by Vilhjálmur Hulter (1815-1871)
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Haldiðún Gróa hafi skó (Dance Song)
Gunnar Reynir Sveinsson (1933-2008)
Written by Halldór Laxness (1902-1998)
Translated by Magnus Magnusson
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Sonnets
Björk (b. 1965)
Written by Sjón (b. 1962) and Björk
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Haustvísur til Máríu (AutumnVerses to theVirgin Mary)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson (1938-2019), composed for Hamrahlíðarkórinn 1984
Written by Einar Ólafur Sveinsson (1899-1984)
Translated by Sigurður Jóhannsson
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Maríukvæði (A Mary Poem)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson, composed for Hamrahlíðarkórinn 1995
Written by Halldór Laxness
Translated by Peter Foote
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Vikivaki (The Lover in the Red Forest)
Atli Heimir Sveinsson, arr. for Hamrahlíðarkórinn 2001
Written by Halldór Laxness
Translated by James Anderson Thompson
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Stemmur (Ballads): Í gleðinni - Come and Be Joyful
Jón Ásgeirsson, composed for Hamrahlíðarkórinn 1977
Folk Poetry, Jón Sigurðsson Dalaskáld (1685-1720)
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
Smávinir fagrir (Fair Little Friends)
Jón Nordal (b. 1926)
Written by Jónas Hallgrímsson
Translated by Jóhann Hannesson
Performed by The Hamrahlíð Choir
--
The Hamrahlíð Choir - 2019/20:
Arvid Ísleifur Jónsson Schirmacher Ásgrímur Ari Einarsson
Baldvin Snær Hlynsson
Birgitta Björg Guðmarsdóttir Dýrleif Una Bergsdóttir
Enar Kornelius Leferink Garðar Helgi Biering
Guðni Páll Guðmundsson Guðný Margrét Eyjólfsdóttir Gunnar Björn Gunnarsson Gunnar Haraldsson Halldóra Ósk Helgadóttir Heiðrún Vala Einarsdóttir Herdís Ágústa Linnet
Hildur Fjalarsdóttir
Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir Hjalti Nordal Gunnarsson Hólmfríður Hafliðadóttir Hugi Kjartansson
Hugi Þeyr Gunnarsson Iðunn Einarsdóttir
Iðunn Jónsdóttir
Ingibjörg Ragnheiður Linnet Jakob van Oosterhout
Jón Nordal
Júlía Gunnarsdóttir
Katla Kristjánsdóttir
Katrín Helga Ólafsdóttir
Katrín Svava Másdóttir
Kjartan Ólafur Gunnarsson Kolbeinn Arnarson
Kormákur Logi Bergsson
Líneik Jakobsdóttir
Magnús Magnússon
María Ása Auðunsdóttir Melkorka Gunborg Briansdóttir Móeiður Kristjánsdóttir
Ólöf Sesselja Ingimundardóttir Róbert Alejandro López Jack Salvör Gullbrá Þórarinsdóttir Sigurður Guðni Gunnarsson Sigurgeir Ingi Þorkelsson Eyvinds Sigurlaug Guðrún Jóhannsdóttir Sverrir Páll Sverrisson
Sylvía Spilliaert
Vigdís Kristín Rohleder
Vigdís Þóra Másdóttir
Þórður Hallgrímsson
Þórey Einarsdóttir
Þórhildur Katrín Baldursdóttir Þórhildur Magnúsdóttir
Þorkell Nordal
Conductor Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir
Recorded at Háteigskirkja, Reykjavík
Trumpets - Ingibjörg Ragnheiður Linnet Jakob van Oosterhout
At the forefront of Icelandic musical life for more than four decades, its members are former students at Hamrahlíð College
in Reykjavík.
More than 2,500 Icelandic teenagers have participated in the Hamrahlíð choral experience. Many have gone on to participate in music-making of the highest quality, from new Icelandic compositions to the choral masterworks of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart....more
supported by 17 fans who also own “Come And Be Joyful”
Je me suis effondrée en larmes dès les premières notes de certaines chansons. Elle a perdu sa mère, j'ai perdu mon père. Album magnifique comme toute son œuvre! C'est son dernier album et j'espère qu'elle en créera d'autres! Lavinie Cloutier
supported by 13 fans who also own “Come And Be Joyful”
Odin’s Raven Magic est un album surprenant – pas tant que ça quand on connaît un peu Sigur Rós. Son côté liturgique est parfois minimaliste, mais l’ensemble recrée une ambiance de fin des temps qui enfonce tous les black-metaleux du monde. (Chroniqué sur https://alias.erdorin.org) Stéphane Gallay
supported by 11 fans who also own “Come And Be Joyful”
Magic in its purest form. I love Floating Points, I love Pharoah Sanders, I love The London Symphony Orchestra. It's a match made in heaven, and the result is absolutely gorgeous. I have loved this record since its release, and realized I don't own it for some reason. So its time to change that. 9.5/10 honestly could become a 10/10 on an indepth vinyl relisten. angrypizza98
“Scatter My Ashes” exists at a crossroads between multiple styles, but emerges with something rich, textural, ambient, and riveting. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 7, 2022
