 Eighteen Reflections on Icelandic Folksongs for piano
by Rikadur Orn Palsson (Published by the author)
Preface
These Eighteen Reflections on Icelandic Folksongs originated between 1999 and 2002. I wrote them partly on personal impulse and partly at the instigation of pianist/teacher Ólafur Elíasson, who urged me to make some arrangements for advanced piano students. At his suggestion, Nos. 1-12 have been placed in order of difficulty. The last six are more demanding.
Most of the tunes are taken from the monumental collection by the Rev. Bjarni Þorsteinsson, Íslenzk þjóðlög (1906-1909), which unfortunately has never been revised. Several of its "Icelandic" folksongs may, accordingly, prove spurious. The same goes for the present selection, where neither Nos. 8 & 13, nor the second melody in No. 12 (ABCD, strilla), do strike one as being particularly indigenous.
For the benefit of interested readers, the ÍÞ-number in parentheses after the melody title in the Index refers to the relevant page in Þorsteinsson's collection. This is long out of print, but should soon be browseable at the <www.musik.is/ismus> website on the Internet.
Reykjavik, 14 October 2004. Ríkarður Ö. Pálsson <rikardur@mbl.is> |
Ríkarður Örn Pálsson (b. 1946) grew up in Copenhagen and settled in Iceland in 1960. Working primarily as a music critic since 1979, he has written or arranged vocal and instrumental music for various occasions and media, including film, TV and the stage.