Sigvaldi Kaldalóns (Stefánsson) (13 January 1881 – 28 July 1946)[1] was an Icelandic composer and doctor.[2] Unlike the avant-garde composers of his day, he wrote in a traditional romantic style and composed many of Iceland's most famous and widely performed songs, many of which are now wrongly assumed to be folk songs.[3] His particular skill was in capturing the spirit of poems in his melodies,[4] making him Iceland's foremost lyric composer.[5] Since the end of 2016, his works have entered the public domain in Iceland.
Life
editHe was born in Garðastræti, Vaktarabær in the Grjóti neighbourhood of Reykjavík,[6] the son of Stefán Egilsson, a mason, and Sesselja Sigvaldadóttir, a midwife.[7] He attended the Reykjavík Latin School, matriculating in 1902 and gained a diploma in medicine in 1908 from the medical school in Reykjavík.[7] He then travelled to Denmark, where he graduated in Copenhagen.[7] On 16 September 1909 he married Karen Margrethe Thomsen (née Mengel), a Danish nurse.[8]
Works
editKaldalóns wrote about 350 songs. Among his best-known compositions are:
- Ave María, to a poem by Indriði Einarsson (instrumental performance by Víkingur Ólafsson available on YouTube)
- Ísland ögrum skorið (Iceland Deeply Carved) to a poem by Eggert Ólafsson[9] (performance available on YouTube)
- Á Sprengisandi (Ride Hard Across the Sands) to a poem by Grímur Thomsen[9] (performance available on YouTube)
- Suðurnesjamenn (performance available on YouTube)
- Svanasöngur á heiði (performance available on YouTube)
- Heimir (performance available on YouTube)
- Erla, góða Erla
- Draumur hjarðsveinsins
- Þú eina hjartans yndið mitt
- Ég lít í anda liðna tíð
References
edit- ^ "Sigvaldi Kaldalóns - Concerts, Biography & News - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Icelandic folk song concert". Iceland Review. 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Iceland Music Information Centre - Originators - Sigvaldi S. Kaldalóns". shop.mic.is. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ Júlíana Rún Indriðadóttir (26 September 2016). "A Journey through the history of Icelandic traditional and classical music" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ Guðbergur Bergsson. "Grindavík By The Golden Sea" (PDF). Icelandair Stopover, Winter 2018: 44. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ "Tónlistarsaga Reykjavíkur: III Tímabilið 1900 – 1930: Sigvaldi Kaldalóns". musik.is. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ a b c "Menningar-Staður Merkir Íslendingar - Sigvaldi Kaldalóns". menningarstadur.123.is. 2018-01-13. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ J. M. Eggerisson (1921). "Sigvaldi St. Kaldalóns, læknir". Óðinn. p. 89. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
- ^ a b Frederick Key Smith (2002). Nordic Art Music: From the Middle Ages to the Third Millennium. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-275-97399-5.
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