![\"hallgrimspassia\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hallgrimspassia.jpg\" "\\"hallgrimspassia\\"")
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Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda (Hallgr\u00edmur\u00b4s Passion)
\n(2007) oratorio\u00a0(75 min.)
\nText from The Hymns of Passion by Hallgr\u00edmur P\u00e9tursson<\/p>\n
English version, with translation by Gracia Grindal, available.<\/p>\n
Hallgr\u00edmur: bass, Jesus: tenor, Pilate: bass, Judas: tenor, Kaifas: tenor, sopran solo and choir: S.A.T.B<\/p>\n
Orchestra: flute, bass-flute, oboe,\u00a0clarinet in b flat, basson, 2 French horns, 1 percussionist (timpani,tam-tam, tubular chimes, cymbal and bass drum) and strings.<\/p>\n
![\"hallgrimur_petursson\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hallgrimur_petursson.png\" "\\"hallgrimur_petursson\\"")
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Hallgr\u00edmur P\u00e9tursson and the Psalms of the Passion<\/p>\n
Hallgr\u00edmur P\u00e9tursson (1614-1674) is one of Iceland\u2019s chief poets. In the minds of many he is first and foremost a religious poet, although his secular poems are also important. Hallgr\u00edmur is notable amongst the other Icelandic psalm-poets in that his poetry has been sung and read more than any other and his most important work, the Psalms of the the Passion, has been sung and read by Icelanders during Lent for centuries. Even today, these meditations on Christ\u2019s Passion are broadcast every day during Lent. The Psalms of the Passion have been published in Iceland more often than any other piece of writing \u2013 about eighty editions \u2013 and been translated into many languages.<\/p>\n
![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h1256-copy-460x243.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
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![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h1265-copy-460x306.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
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![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h1271-copy-460x324.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
\nHis chair stood by the window which overlooked the church at Keflav\u00edk. Beneath the window was the old radio which took an eternity to warm up. I especially remember him listening to the news, weather forecast and the weekly radio broadcast of the Sunday church service. He sat there, hymn-book in hand, bookmarking the hymns which the announcer said would be sung at the service. He left the singing to the voices on the radio, following them in his hymn-book.
\nTwo books lay beside the radio; one, the hymn-book, the other containing Hallgr\u00edmur P\u00e9tursson\u2019s Psalms of the Passion. There was a certain seriousness in that room during Lent, when he turned on the radio to listen to the Psalms being read. He sat there, silently following the texts in his own book. The volume on the radio was turned down lower than when he listened to the news. Maybe as a mark of respect for the Passion.
\nMany years later, as I sat by his deathbed at the hospital \u2013 the day he left this earthly life \u2013 he murmured passages from the Psalms of Passion, as if in his sleep. That he should use his dying breaths to recite the words of Hallgr\u00edmur\u2019s Psalms made a profound impact on me. From that day, there was no question in my mind that I would set them to music.
\nAt first, I had the idea to write a work that would somehow recall those broadcasts from my youth \u2013 quiet, unostentatious recitation. Yet it was as if Hallgr\u00edmur\u2019s words led me in a completely different direction: I felt his anger and grief. Alliterations and rhyme-schemes suddenly seemed unimportant to me. Rather, I experienced a deep intimacy with the Passion. I became a witness to that Passion.<\/p>\n
In memory of my grandfather.<\/p>\n
Sigur\u00f0ur S\u00e6varsson<\/em><\/p>\n Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda (Hallgr\u00edmur\u00b4s Passion) (2007) oratorio\u00a0(75 min.) Text from The Hymns of Passion by Hallgr\u00edmur P\u00e9tursson English version, with translation by Gracia Grindal, available. Hallgr\u00edmur: bass, Jesus: tenor, Pilate: bass, Judas: tenor, Kaifas: tenor, sopran solo and choir: S.A.T.B Orchestra: flute, bass-flute, oboe,\u00a0clarinet in b flat, basson, 2 French horns, 1 percussionist (timpani,tam-tam, tubular chimes, cymbal … <\/p>\n![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h1277-copy1-460x306.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h1309-460x329.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\"](\"https:\/\/sigurdursaevarsson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/hp6h13391-460x718.jpg\" "\\"Hallgr\u00edmspass\u00eda\\"")
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