... und das ist nur der Anfang ... is a very short piece for violin, percussion and piano, written for Kompass Ensemble's call for micro-pieces and premiered in January 2021.

... und das ist nur der Anfang ... (2020)

Draumsýn (Dream vision) takes us on a journey through the wondrous world of the imagination, where we witness various obscure scenes, and perhaps also some familiar ones. It was written for and premiered by the chamber group Jökla in June 2021. 

Performers:
Julia Hantschel - oboe
Grímur Helgason - clarinet
Gunnhildur Daðadóttir - violin
Guðný Jónsdóttir - cello

Draumsýn (2021)

Etude for a quena flute with a closed mouthpiece (2022)

Composed and recorded in April 2022, the main purpose of this short etude was to explore and play around with some of the technical possibilities of the instrument.

Etýða fyrir quena flautu með lokuðu munnstykki (2022)

The title of the piece could be roughly translated as Distant worlds multiply like strange flowers from my long-sleeping body. It is borrowed from the final stanza of Steinn Steinarr‘s poem Tíminn og vatnið (Time and Water) from 1948. The poem brings up very vivid and graphical images while at the same time being utterly surreal and quite incomprehensible at times. I have long been fascinated by Steinarr‘s poems and the surreal images they evoke and in this piece I have made an attempt to translate one of those images into sound by utilizing the diverse sound palette of the clarinet.

The piece was written for Italian clarinetist Maurizio Longoni and premiered by him in September 2022.

Eins og furðuleg blóm vaxa fjarlægar veraldir út úr langsvæfum líkama mínum (2022)

Seeking harmony was written for the 4x5 Duo.during the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium in July 2021. The piece begins aggressively, with a dark and static dissonant cluster chord that is repeated over and over by one of the pianists. Soon the other pianist joins with a contrasting rhythm, gradually adding to the dissonance. Suddenly the cluster chord dissolves into two contrasting parts. At first these two parts sound very divided and chaotic, with no recognisable harmony. but gradually their interaction becomes more consonant, as they search for harmony, both internally and externally.

“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe” - Marcus Aurelius

Seeking harmony (2021)

00:00 - I. Bjartir skuggar (Bright shadows)
03:30 - II. Ljósbrot (Refractions)
07:17 - III. Næturljóð (Nocturne)
09:34 - IV. Inn og út um skuggann (In and out of the shadow)
13:22 - V. Regnljós (Rainlight)
15:10 - VI. Svefnljós (Sleeplight)


Skuggaljós (Shadowlights) was written for Caput Ensemble in 2019/2020. The piece consists of six short movements, were the interplay between lights and shadows is protrayed in different ways. The soundworld of the piece is varied. Some of the sounds are pure and bright (like beams of lights), while others are rough and gloomy (like shadows). And then there are these inscrutable sounds that dance so intruigingly on the border between light and shadow; some sort of shadowlights.

Skuggaljós (2020)

A set of 6 variations on a lullaby by Þórhalla Rein Aðalgeirsdóttir.
Pianist: Gísli Magnússon

2022

Tilbrigði við vögguvísu eftir Þórhöllu Rein Aðalgeirsdóttur (2022)

Kvöldtónar (Sounds of evening) is a collection of 5 short movements for piano, all of which focus on the mysterious and adventurous atmosphere of night-time. The titles of the movements are as follows:

I. Næturljóð (Nocturne)
II. Furðuverur fara á kreik (Strange beings awaken)
III. Skuggadans (Shadow dance)
IV. Margt býr í myrkrinu (Lurking in the dark)
V. Svefnljóð (Sleep poem)

Kvöldtónar (2022)

for SATB choir

performed by Söngsveitin Fílharmónía

Snjór (2012)

for clarinet & percussion

performed by Kristine Tjøgersen & Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen

Næturljóð (2013)

for large orchestra

performed by the CvA Symphony Orchestra

Strokkur (2015)

for chamber ensemble

performed by The Score Collective Ensemble

Svartifoss (2016)

three short movements for piano

performed by Gísli Magnússon

Fylgjur II (2016)

Theme and 8 variations inspired by spring time.

Performed by Ross Luescher (organ) on the Verschueren organ in Orgelpark Amsterdam, at the "Composer's Festival Amsterdam" on May 23 2015.

Vor tilbrigði (2014)

Spring variations (2014)

Akvocirkulado was co-commissioned by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Music Information Centre as a part of the YRKJA project in 2017-18. 

The title of the work, "Akvocirkulado", comes from Esperanto, meaning “water cycle”, thus referring to the continuous movement of water on our planet: from the ocean it evaporates to the atmosphere, then rains back to the ground, and eventually flows down the streams and rivers, back to the ocean. – This is the process that I try to depict in the music.

First performance:
YRKJA - uppskerutónleikar
January 26, 2018 at 12:00
Norðurljós, Harpa, Reykjavík, Iceland
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Daníel Bjarnason

Yrkja III - uppskerutónleikar

Akvocirkulado (2018)

Loosely inspired by the Northern Lights dancing across the skies, the music is characterised by fast scales, arpeggios and trills, mixed with longer sustained notes. Harmonically speaking the piece is based on artificial overtone series, which is an attempt to reflect on the various colours of the Northern Lights. Alternatively the piece could be interpreted as an ode to Aurora, the greek goddess of dawn.

Aurora (2018)

Stuðlagil was written in June 2019, for the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari, Finland, and premiered by Uusinta Ensemble  members Angel Molinos (cl), Inka Pärssinen (tpt) & Fanny Söderström (pno).

The piece depicts a journey through Stuðlagil, a canyon of basalt columns in the Jökla glacial river in East Iceland. For centuries most of the canyon was hidden below the water level of the forceful river. But after the building of the controversial hydropower plant, Kárahnjúkarvirkjun, the water level dropped drastically, thus revealing the spectacular canyon.

2019 - Stuðlagil

Stuðlagil (2019)

Gísli Magnússon is a composer and music theory teacher from Reykjavík, Iceland. He frequently seeks inspiration in the nature of his home country, and in some of his works he deliberately depicts natural phenomena, such as waterfalls, lava-fields and geysers. A recurring element in his music are diverse and colourful sound textures which he creates by combining various instrumental effects and extended techniques. 

Gísli studied composition at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and later at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he finished his master's studies in 2017. His main composition teacher's were Gunnar A. Kristinsson, Hróðmar I. Sigurbjörnsson, Atli Ingólfsson, Joël Bons, Willem Jeths and Wim Henderickx. Gísli has also had private lessons and masterclasses with composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Francisco Filidei and Fabien Lévy.

In 2015, Gísli’s first orchestral piece, Strokkur, was recorded by Ed Spanjaard and the CvA symphony orchestra and in 2017, he was selected for Yrkja, a workshop for young composers with Daniel Bjarnason and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, which led to the premiere of his second orchestral piece, Akvocirkulado. Furthermore, Gísli has participated in workshops with ensembles like Duo Harpverk (IS), Uusinta Ensemble (FI) and 4x5 Duo (US) and artists such as Estelí Gomez and Maurizio Longoni. His music has been played in various festivals in Iceland and abroad, including Nordic Music Days (IS), Dark Music Days (IS), Ung Nordisk Musik (SE & NO), Musiikin Aika (FI) and Rondò in Monferrato (IT). Other performers of his music include Caput Ensemble (IS), Elja Ensemble (IS), Jökla Ensemble (IS), Kompass Ensemble (DE), Tempo Ensemble (US) and Orquestra Filarmônica da UFPR (BR). Occasionally, Gísli performs his own music, either as a pianist or, less commonly, as a harpsichordist.

Gísli Magnússon

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