Árdís - 01.01.1950, Page 34

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ÁRDÍS
Icelandic solo voices have only in recent years come to the
fore-front. Not that the voices did not exist but because of the high
cost of training which necessitated study abroad. Now Iceland has
its own “tónlistarskóli” — or School of Music — where most of
the musicians of today acquire the fundamentals in their particular
]ine of interest and then finish abroad usually in Europe. Some of
the better known soloists of today are the two who sang here with
the Male Voice Choir of Reykjavik; Gudmundur Jonsson, baritone,
and Stefán íslandi, tenor, also Petur Jonsson, Eggert Stefansson,
Elsa Sigfúss and Maria Markan. The last named toured England,
Denmark, Germany and Australia before she came to America
where she became a member of the Metropolitan Opera Co. in New
York.
The Icelandic people as a race have always been considered
serious minded, stoic and reserved. We found this to be true, but
once their friendship is gained it will last for life. Their hospitality
is such as one has never known. Their music appears to be rather
of the sad and melancholy type. We must understand that this
reflects the spirit of the people and their struggle thru a thousand
years; their poverty, loneliness, isolation and political and
economical oppression. The recent composers however manifest a
more cheerful spirit, this again reflecting a new day of liberty
and progress which has dawned upon the nation.
While sculpture and pictorial art are comparatively new, I
might mention briefly first other forms of art which have for
centuries given expression to their esthetic sense. The first is
wood carving. One needs only to browse thru Reykjavik’s museum
to realize that this dates back as far as the settlement of the
island. There one sees countless articles such as tureens called
“askar” and used in ancient times before china and glass; knitting
boxes, shelves, chests and church altars and pulpits carved in
exquisite designs; some of it on cheap coarse wood indicative of
the dearth of good material; also on whale bone, and animal horns.
The most noted wood carver of the present day is Rikhardur
Jonsson. We saw many of his carvings and I would like to tell
you about one of them because it was different from any other
I’d ever seen. It was a table lamp in a friend’s home. The wood was
Icelandic birch which looks much like our own in color but differs
in texture, being very hard due to its slow growth — and battle