Hringla

Bára Gísladóttir’s work has been highly acclaimed in recent years. She has won a number of awards, including a three-year composers’ stipend from the Danish Arts Foundation. The idea for VAPE originated in the sarin gas attack five men perpetrated in the Tokyo underground train system in 1995. The orchestra is divided into five groups. The piece has been heard far and wide since its premiere in 2016, including a performance at the opening of the world-renowned Darmstadt festival in Germany. Also on the programme is Hringla, a concerto for amplified contrabass, live electronics, and orchestra, which Bára herself premiered with the Copenhagen Philharmonic in February 2022, upon receiving the Gladsaxe Music Prize. The music reflects the ambiguity in the title of the piece, which can variously mean “rattle” as a noun or verb, or “instability” or “indecision.” The programme opens with Bára’s mesmerising chamber work from 2019, the worlds within our petty voids for flute, oboe, violin, viola, and cello.