Nabokov, Nicolas [Nikolay]



Yüklə 10,2 Mb.
səhifə227/326
tarix07.08.2018
ölçüsü10,2 Mb.
#67709
1   ...   223   224   225   226   227   228   229   230   ...   326

Nordal, Jón


(b Reykjavík, 6 March 1926). Icelandic composer, pianist and teacher. He studied theory with Victor Urbancic (1940–45) and later enrolled at the Reykjavík College of Music, where he studied the piano with Árni Kristjánsson and composition with Urbancic and Jón Thórarinsson. After graduating in 1949, he continued his studies at the Zürich Conservatory with Walter Frey (piano) and Willy Burkhard (composition). He also studied in Paris and Rome, and participated in the summer courses at Darmstadt (1956–7). In 1957 he became a teacher of piano and theory at the Reykjavík School of Music. He was appointed principal of the school in 1959, and held the post until 1992. In 1959 he also co-founded the group Musica Nova, and served as its first chairman. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy in 1968. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Falcon in 1978 and a Grand Knight in 1993.

Despite his relatively small output, Nordal is widely considered to be one of the most important Icelandic composers of his generation. His earliest works, including the suite Systur í Garðshorni (‘The Sisters of Garðshorn’, written at the age of 19), are in a tuneful, nationalistic style. The works composed under the tutelage of Thórarinsson in the late 1940s show the influence of Hindemith (Concerto for Orchestra). During his years of study on the continent, serialism became a prevalent feature of his style, and in the orchestral Brotaspil (‘Play of Fragments’, 1962), he used serial methods to determine both pitch and (to a certain degree) rhythm. The work's unsuccessful reception led to a radical rethinking of his musical language, and a rejection of strict serial techniques. Four years later, he re-emerged with the Adagio for flute, piano, harp and strings; its combination of free atonality and pensive lyricism marks it as the first work of his mature style.

Although he can scarcely be described as a nationalist composer, Nordal's occasional use of parallel 5ths reminiscent of Icelandic tvísöngur marks several of his works with a national stamp. A rare use of actual folk material occurs in Choralis (commissioned by Rostropovich and the NSO Washington), which quotes the enigmatic Lilja, a well-known Icelandic folksong. His pensive musical language rarely gives much occasion for virtuosity or brilliant effects. In his Cello Concerto (1983), the lyrical qualities of the solo instrument and strings are contrasted with occasional agitated outbursts of brass and percussion.

Since the early 1980s, his output has been dominated by choral and chamber works, all of which show an increasing depth of expressive content. His choral works, often characterized by slow-moving homophony and harmonies based on root position triads with added pitches (most often major or minor 2nds), have been particularly successful. Óttusöngvar á vori (‘Matins in Spring’) adds settings of medieval and modern Icelandic poetry as a framework for its mass movements (Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei), while the Requiem is a deeply felt, elegiac setting (which sets only the Introitus). His particularly successful string quartet (1996–7) consists of a central scherzo section (marked by percussive homophony and irregular metric groupings) framed by extended slow movements in the introspective vein so characteristic of the composer.


WORKS


Orch: Conc. for Orch, 1949; Bjarkamál – Sinfonietta seriosa, 1956; Pf Conc., 1956; Brotaspil [Play of Fragments], 1962; Adagio, fl, hp, pf, str, 1966; Stiklur [Stepping-Stones], 1970; Canto elegiaco (Conc. for Vc), 1971; Leiðsla [Rapture], 1973; Epitafion, 1974; Conc. lirico, hp, str, 1975; Langnætti [Mid-winter], 1975; Tvísöngur (Conc. for Vn and Va), 1979; Tileinkun [Dedication], 1981; Choralis, 1982; Vc Conc., 1983

Choral (for mixed chorus unacc. unless otherwise stated): Smávinir fagrir [Fair Little Friends] (J. Hallgrímsson), 1940, rev. 1978; Sjö lög við miðaldatexta [7 Songs to Medieval Texts], TB, 1955; Umhverfi [Surroundings] (H. Pétursson), 1978; Kveðið í bjargi [Invocation from the Rock] (folk verse), 1978; Heilraeðavísa [Good Advice] (folk verse), 1981; Drekkur grundin dökkva [The Dark Earth Drinks] (Anacreon, trans. S. Nordal), 1986; Aldasöngur [Song of the Ages] (medieval poetry and J. Helgason), 1986; Óttusöngvar á vori [Matins in Spring] (Sólarljóð, medieval poetry and M. Johannessen), S, Ct, SATB, vc, perc, org, 1993; Vér treystum thví [We Trust it] (T. Guðmundsson), 1994; Vorkvaeði um Ísland [Iceland: a Spring Poem] (J. Óskar), 1994; Requiem, 1995; 3 Miniatures (S. Hjartarson), 1994–5; Trú mín er aðeins týra [My Faith is but a Flicker] (Helgason), 1999

Inst: Systur í Garðshorni [The Sisters of Garðshorn], vn, pf, 1945; Trio, ob, cl, hn, 1948; Sonata, vn, pf, 1953; Fantasia, org, 1954; Kóralforspil um sálm sem aldrei var sunginn [Chorale Prelude on a Hymn that Never was Sung), org, 1980; Duo, vn, vc, 1983; Ristur [Carvings], cl, pf, 1985; Toccata, org, 1985; Næturljó Nocturne á hörpu [Spring ð], hp, 1987; Myndir á thili [Pictures on a Panel Wall], vc, pf, 1992; Piccola musica notturna, va, pf, 1995; Frá draumi til draums [From Dream to Dream], str qt, 1996–7; Andað á sofinn streng [Breathing on a Dormant String], vn, vc, pf, 1998

Incid music: Silfurtúnglið [The Silver Moon] (H. Laxness), 1v, pf, 1954

Principal publisher: Iceland Music Information Centre, Wilhelm Hansen

BIBLIOGRAPHY


G. Bergendal: New Music in Iceland (Reykjavík, 1991), 65–71

M. Podhajski: Dictionary of Icelandic Composers (Warsaw, 1997)

ÁRNI HEIMIR INGÓLFSSON



Yüklə 10,2 Mb.

Dostları ilə paylaş:
1   ...   223   224   225   226   227   228   229   230   ...   326




Verilənlər bazası müəlliflik hüququ ilə müdafiə olunur ©muhaz.org 2024
rəhbərliyinə müraciət

gir | qeydiyyatdan keç
    Ana səhifə


yükləyin