Credits:

Reykjavik Cowilkinson

Description:

A Collection of Leifs Chamber Music Works, Which Have Been Reappraised in Recent YearsThis new release by Icelandic composer Jhann Leifsa focus of the BIS labelis a licensed release from the Smekkleysa label and features works from Leifs middle and late periods, with a focus on chamber music. The unique instrumentation, intense soundscapes, and mysterious world rooted in his homelands traditional musichallmarks of Leifss musicare also evident in these chamber works.The Variations on a Pastoral Theme, which he began composing in 1920, is a work from Leifss Leipzig period that takes Beethovens Symphony No. 6, Pastoral, as its motif. Furthermore, the Elegy was composed out of grief following the drowning of his daughter in 1947; the interplay between the mezzo-soprano and violin expresses a profound sorrow. Please enjoy the unique world of Leifs, who is said to be the first composer to in