#3161: Iceland via Lincoln Center

When Icelandic art-rock band Sigur Rós (sometimes falling into classical or minimalist camps, sometimes labeled post-rock, but always ethereal) was on a short hiatus, their members were busy, either spending time with their babies or presenting world premieres.  On November 15, 2010, John Schaefer was on location at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle near Lincoln Center for the White Light Festival where Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Rós multi-instrumentalist) and Jónsi Birgisson (voice of Sigur Rós) presented new works.  For this New Sounds, we’ll sample some of these live performances.

Hear “Credo” by Kjartan Sveinsson, which called for “more than a four member chamber ensemble,” in this case members of the Latvian National Choir and the Wordless Music Orchestra led by Jeffrey Milarsky.  Also, we’ll hear music from Sigur Ros frontman Jónsi Birgisson and his partner, Alex Somers, from their 2009 collaboration “Riceboy Sleeps,” in which acoustic instruments are digitally manipulated and then meshed with electronics. These tunes from Jónsi and Alex were transcribed and arranged by David Handler and performed live in their world premieres.

PROGRAM #        3161, Iceland via Lincoln Center White Light Festival  (First aired on 1-20-11)