Atmospheriques, Vol. 1

by Daniel Bjarnason, Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Overview

Edgard Varese never wrote a piece called Atmospheriques, but he might have, and it is the kinds of musical spaces he created that are explored in this release by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Bjarnason's direction. The pieces are not overly long; Anna Thorvaldsdottir's CATAMORPHOSIS (which unfortunately seems to have nothing to do with cats) is the longest one at 20 minutes plus, but they all define vast musical dimensions and fill them with slowly shifting textures. All the pieces are for large conventional orchestra; all except for Missy Mazzoli's 2014 Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), the oldest work on the program, are Icelandic; and all except for Bjarnason's From Space I Saw Earth are by women. This said, listeners who immerse themselves in the music will hear quite a bit of variety. Consider the way Bjarnason's piece dissolves into a haze of triangles at the end, or the novel treatment of time in Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir's Clockworking for orchestra. As a release on the Sono Luminus label, this album will be sought out by audiophiles, and they will not be disappointed; the high definition the label's engineers achieve in the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik will repay high-end stereo investment. An orientation toward the general modern Icelandic style will be helpful here, but this is an unusually nice example, and one looks forward to future releases in the series. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	04/28/2023
Label:	Sono Luminus
UPC:	0053479226709
Rank:	8972

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Catamorphosis
2. Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
3. From Space I Saw Earth
4. Clockworking for Orchestra
5. Ós

Disc 2

6. Catamorphosis
7. Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
8. From Space I Saw Earth
9. Clockworking for Orchestra
10. Ós

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Daniel Bjarnason   Primary Artist,Conductor
Iceland Symphony Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Kornilios Michailidis   Conductor
Eva Ollikainen   Conductor

Technical Credits

Michael T. Hoffmann   Authoring
Kristin Morthens   Cover Painting
Bara Gisladottir   Composer
Caroline Tompkins   Photography
Joshua Frey   Graphic Design
Ragnheidjur Jonsdottir   Editing Engineer,Producer
Daniel Bjarnason   Composer
Doyle Armbrust   Liner Notes
Daniel Shores   Mastering Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Engineer
Ari Magg   Photography
Missy Mazzoli   Composer
Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir   Composer
Stefan Bock   Producer
Collin Rae   Executive Producer
Saga Sig   Photography
Lilja Birgisdottir   Photography
Anna Thorvaldsdottir   Composer