Edda II – The Lives of the Gods

Jón Leifs was one of Iceland's most prominent 20^th-century composers. He spent much of his composing career writing a gigantic work based on the Poetic Edda and designed to span three evenings, in a sort of rejoinder to Wagner's Ring cycle. The Edda oratorio is a massive work, but Jón never heard it performed. The first part of the work, Edda I: The Creation of the World, was premiered in 2006, and its release on compact disc drew worldwide attention and outstanding reviews. This programme features the premiere of the second part. Edda II: The Lives of the Gods tells the story of Óðinn and his sons and of goddesses, witches, and the Valkyries in a dramatic and colourful fashion.

It is a watershed event in Icelandic musical culture that this work, composed by Jón over a fifteen-year period (1951–1966) and, at the time, the most ambitious project ever undertaken by an Icelandic composer, should finally be heard.

The concert will be broadcast on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) on March 29th and will be available here for four weeks after the broadcast.

The premiere of Edda II: The Lives of the Gods is the Iceland Symphony Orchestra's contribution to the 2018 celebration of the 100^th anniversary of home rule in Iceland.

English translation of Edda II