Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.09.2016, Page 38

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Reykholt, population sixty, is a tiny
village tucked away deep in a valley
in Borgarfjörður. It has a long his-
tory, and was once a cultural centre
of Iceland, but today it’s a very sleepy
place, with a few buildings scattered
around its tall, distinctive church.
The church’s ground floor holds
a permanent exhibition about the
town’s most famous inhabitant—
Snorri Sturluson, a famous Icelan-
dic author of the 1200s. Combined
with some stunning nearby lava
fields, caves and waterfalls, and a
couple of attractions and institu-
tions such as a medieval studies
centre, a well-preserved old bath-
ing pool—too hot to be used now,
regrettably—and a library dedicated
to Snorri’s work, it’s enough to keep
a steady trickle of visitors dropping
by to visit.
But once a year, people flock to
Reykholt in greater numbers for
Reykholtshátið—a three-day sum-
mer festival of chamber music and
contemporary Icelandic composi-
tion, which celebrates its 20th an-
niversary in 2016.
Old and new
Sigurgeir Agnarsson is the direc-
tor of the festival. “I’m the one
who talks to the artists, and helps
arrange the programme,” he says,
standing in the library wing of
the church, as musicians bustle
around him. “So I’m responsible
for the artistic side, but also for
the financial side. You could say
I’m artistic and general director.”
The festival’s location is a lit-
tle remote, but Sigurgeir tells me
about the variety of people it at-
tracts. “We really get a mixture of
locals or summer-house people,
then some who drive up from
Reykjavík, and a few accidental
tourists who are passing by,” he
explains.
As well as a focus on classical
music of 18th and 19th century, the
festival occasionally commissions
new work. In 2016, the festival pre-
miered a new work by Icelandic
composer Gunnar Andreas Kris-
tinsson, and featured a perfor-
mance by Elmar Gilbertsson, an
award-winning tenor and rising
star in Iceland’s music world.
Appreciating the arts
"There’s a really calm and relaxed
atmosphere here,” says Elmar, ra-
diating confidence as he prepares
for his big performance. “We tend
to do this a lot here in the country-
side here in Iceland. We have a lot
of very beautiful churches. Many of
them have good acoustics, like this
one—this church is one of the best
houses for acoustic music in the
country. It’s fantastically reward-
ing to share this kind of music
here. This place is very well known
for appreciating the arts.”
Elmar has been to Reykholt
once before, when he sang in a
choir, and is happy to return for
a solo performance. “The people
here are so lovely—they lent me
the church for practising,” he en-
thuses. “But this is the first time
I’ll do a solo concert here.”
“I think it’s very fertile here in
Iceland,” he finishes. “There are a
lot of great composers, with new
ones always coming up. As an Ice-
landic musician I think that’s very
important—to get the chance to
perform contemporary pieces in
our own language. And festivals
like this one help that to happen.”
LISTEN AND SHARE:
gpv.is/rey15

Words JOHN ROGERS Photo ART BICNICK
Twenty Years Of
Reykholtshátið
A weekend of chamber music in Borgarfjörður