Haukur Tómasson: In Seventh Heaven

In Seventh Heaven by Haukur Tómasson won a composition competition for the opening ceremony of Harpa Concert Hall, and was premiered in the Eldborg Hall on May 13th 2011 with conductor Petri Sakari. The work is joyous as the title describes. In the beginning the fluctus rows of notes in the wind instruments are prominent, but from there a dense web of strings grows, and the percussion, with harp, piano and celeste also come into light. As the work develops these elements form a rhythmical block until the climax, which bears the under title Estatico – In Seventh Heaven!

Haukur says on the work: “When I was composing the piece, I had a.o. things the acoustics of the house in mind. Then I thought about all this glass and the reflections I imagined would occur in the outer layer. The letters h, a, r, p and a also influenced the sound world greatly in the piece. That's how it begins with very quiet windy, airy sounds which one would have been shy using in Háskólabíó. Then more open tones and harmonies form (a), after that some buzzing (r), finally harmonic blocks (p) and at the very end the recapitulation of a.”