The Hamrahlid Choir

The Hamrahlid Choir or Hamrahlíðarkórinn as it is called in Icelandic was founded in 1981 by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, who has remained its conductor since then. The choir consists of alumni of Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð (Hamrahlid College) in Iceland who were formerly members of The Choir of Hamrahlid College, conducted by Ingólfsdóttir until her official retirement in 2017.^[1] The choir should not be confused with the Hamrahlid College Choir, which continues to operate under the direction of Ingólfsdóttir's successor, Hreiðar Ingi Þorsteinsson.^[2]

The choir has traveled extensively and toured dozens of countries in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as Israel and collaborated with renowned conductors such as Tõnu Kaljuste, Osmo Vänskä, Lukas Foss, László Heltay, Robert King, Timothy Brown, Gustav Sjökvist, Willi Gohl, Hansruedi Willisegger, Johan Dujick, Petri Sakari and Thomas Adés. Recent ventures include the 2015 Europa Cantat festival in Pécs, Hungary and the 2017 Aberdeen International Youth Festival in Scotland. The choir has also made a career in Iceland by singing big pieces by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky with the distinguished Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Throughout its history, the choir has collaborated closely with Icelandic composers. Over 100 works have been composed especially for the choir, including works by virtually all of Iceland's leading composers.^[3] Apart from its close association with native composers, the choir has collaborated with foreign artist such as Arvo Pärt, John Cage and Vagn Holmboe in the first Icelandic performances of their works. Arvo Pärt was so impressed with the choir's performance of his Te Deum in 1998 that he composed a choral work dedicated to Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, Which was the son of..., which was premièred in 2000.^[4]^[5]

The choir was awarded Performer of the year at the 2002 Icelandic Music Awards and has released several CDs and gramophone records.^[6]

In 2019, The Hamrahlid Choir was part of the line-up for Icelandic singer Björk's Cornucopia concert tour. They featured in the New York residency from the 6th of May to the 1st of June as well as the European leg of the tour consisting of eight concerts in eight countries. Björk herself was once a member of the choir and utilized them for the Utopia track "Body Memory". Airfare for the 50-person choir was provided by the Icelandic government, with Minister of Education Lilja Alfreðsdóttir saying, "the state often strengthens cultural events" and "this will be very good for all parties".^[7]

In 2020, they released the album Come and Be Joyful that featured renditions of Icelandic folk songs as well as covers of Cosmogony and Sonnets by Björk on which the singer collaborated.^[8]

Discography

LPs

1978: Ljós og hljómar / Light and Sounds
1982: Öld hraðans / The Age of Speed
1982: Mattheusarpassía/ St Matthew Passion (credited to Pólýfónkórinn, Hamrahlíðarkórinn, Kór Öldutúnsskóla og 2 kammersveitir)
1985: Haustmyndir / Autumn Pictures

CDs

1988: Kveðið í bjargi / Invocation from the Rock
1990: Turtildúfan, jarðarberið og úlfaldalestin / The Turtle Dove, the Strawberry and the Desert Caravan
1993: Íslensk þjóðlög / Icelandic Folk Songs
1996: Íslenskir jólasöngvar og Maríukvæði / Icelandic Christmas Songs and Hymns to the Virgin
2002: Vorkvæði um Ísland / Icelandic Spring Poem
2003: Mansöngur um Ólafs rímu Grænlendings / Ballad of Olaf the Greenlander
2008: Þorkell / Choral Music by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson
2009: Jólasagan / The Christmas Story
2013: Djúpsins ró / Calm of the Deep (with Nordic Affect)
2017: Íslenskir jólasöngvar og Maríukvæði / Icelandic Christmas Songs
2020: Come and be Joyful

References

^ Arnljótsdóttir, Þórdís (6 September 2017). "Þorgerður hættir með Hamrahlíðarkórinn". ruv.is. Archived from the original on Feb 23, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ "Fyrsta kóræfing vetrarins". mh.is. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on Feb 9, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ Óskarsdóttir, Svanhildur (2015). Kveðið í bjargi: Hamrahlíðarkórarnir og tónskáldin þeirra. Reykjavík: Eyja.
^ "Works: Which was the son of..." Arvo Pärt Centre. 7 July 2025. Archived from the original on May 12, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ Guðlaugsdóttir, Guðrún (5 November 2000). "Raddir Evrópu - hin "eina rödd"". Morgunblaðið. pp. 10–11. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ "Íslensku tónlistarverðlaunin afhent". Morgunblaðið. 23 January 2003. p. 35. Archived from the original on July 13, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ "Björk Guðmundsdóttir heldur átta tónleika í nýju tónleikahúsi í New York á næstu þrjátíu dögum". Ruv.is. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
^ "The Hamrahlíð Choir – Come And Be Joyful". olirecords.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.

External links

Webpage of the choir

[1] Arnljótsdóttir, Þórdís (6 September 2017). "Þorgerður hættir með Hamrahlíðarkórinn". ruv.is. Archived from the original on Feb 23, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[2] "Fyrsta kóræfing vetrarins". mh.is. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on Feb 9, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[3] Óskarsdóttir, Svanhildur (2015). Kveðið í bjargi: Hamrahlíðarkórarnir og tónskáldin þeirra. Reykjavík: Eyja.

[4] "Works: Which was the son of..." Arvo Pärt Centre. 7 July 2025. Archived from the original on May 12, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[5] Guðlaugsdóttir, Guðrún (5 November 2000). "Raddir Evrópu - hin "eina rödd"". Morgunblaðið. pp. 10–11. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[6] "Íslensku tónlistarverðlaunin afhent". Morgunblaðið. 23 January 2003. p. 35. Archived from the original on July 13, 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[7] "Björk Guðmundsdóttir heldur átta tónleika í nýju tónleikahúsi í New York á næstu þrjátíu dögum". Ruv.is. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

[8] "The Hamrahlíð Choir – Come And Be Joyful". olirecords.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]