The history of Icelandic music is very interesting, because it dates all the way back to Viking times. Icelandic music can be dated back to Viking times, because of the rimur. Rimur is an Icelandic epic poem that is rhymed, alliterate, and consists of two to four lines per stanza and they are tales that can be sung in various ways, but they are mostly sung a cappella. When Iceland converted to Christianity rimur became forbidden, because they were trying to rid the country of the Pagan religion. Over time the rimur grew on the country and priests even began to make their own rimur. The oldest Icelandic song is "Heyr himna smiður," but the song was composed by Kolbeinn Tumason in 1208.
"Heyr himna smiður" - VOCES8.
Many of the oldest Icelandic songs are still sung today and date back to the 14th century; these songs are typically folk songs with lyrics that are about love, life, myths, and hardships. One of the most important factors to keep in mind when listening to Icelandic music, especially the music of the Middle Ages, is that Iceland is cut off from the rest of the world, because they are remote. Music from other countries did not reach them, so all of their music was uninfluenced from other cultures. The effect that this remoteness had on their music is that it actually made their songs and their musical styles survive over time, because they were unchanged from other cultures. One of the biggest factors in Icelandic music is the Hákveða, which is a specific rhythm that most of the folk songs were sung to, but now it is almost nonexistent. Hákveða puts a lot of stress on the last word.
LangspilFiðla
Some instruments of Iceland include the Icelandic langspil and the fiðla, which is a fiddle. These instruments date back to the Middle Ages and they are played in folk songs. The langspil is also known as a zither. The langspil is a chordophone that can be plucked, bowed, or hit with a stick and it is used as an accompaniment instrument. How this instrument is built is very similar to a hurdy gurdy in that it has tuning pegs that go into the scroll of the instrument. Also, at the bottom of the instrument there are hitchpins. The instrument is comprised of four strings, one of the strings is a melody and the other three are drones, and one of the drones is tuned an octave higher. Most langspils are made of pine. or driftwood. Traditionally when these folk songs were played people would dance the Vikivaki dance and the most famous folk song that this dance is performed with is "Ólafur Lilijurós." This song is about a man who is seduced by and falls for an elf woman who later stabs him to death. This song utilizes Hákveða, and it includes a lot of stomping. This music conatins a lot of call and response, more talky singing, a fiðla, and the melody is fairly repetitive. This song starts with men singing and later in the piece a woman joins in on the singing.
"Ólafur Lilijurós".
Around the 18th century musical influences from other cultures began to come to Iceland, but the influence did not really have an impact until the middle of the 19th century. By the time the 19th century came around the pipe organ made its way to Iceland and they still use it today. Also, later on they began to use the accordion and the harmonica, which are very popular in Iceland now. A man by the name of Jónas Helgason had a huge impact on the musical influence of Iceland. Helgason was from Iceland, and he traveled to Copenhagen to study music. While studying in Copenhagen, he became very fascinated with polyphonic music, so when he returned to Iceland in 1862, he formed the first choir in Iceland. Because of this establishment and him setting up more choirs over time, choir music became very popular in Iceland, and even today it is still an achievement that many people strive for there. A symphony orchestra was formed in 1950, and now Iceland's music covers a vast majority of popular genres.
Harpa Opera House
One of the most famous musicians in Iceland today is Björk. Björk is a singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and a flautist. One of her most famous songs is "Hyperballad," which was written in 1995. This is one of her most simple songs, but it is her most popular one, because of how intriguing the chorus is. In most of her music, but in particular this song, she includes ambient electric instruments throughout and it gives the song an almost extraterrestrial sound. The melody of the song has aspects of pop music, but it is also vastly different from any other music in the world. Björk includes a ton of computer software for her instrumental lines, instead of real instruments. This song is about being in a long-term relationship and now the initial excitement or spark is gone, because you feel overly safe in the relationship and it makes you uncomfortable. Although some of her songs have pop aspects, she considers all of her music to be folk music.
"Hyperballad," by Björk.
Another famous Icelandic group is Of Monsters and Men. They are a rock band, but they also sing many folk songs. One of their well known songs is "Dirty Paws," and this entire song is a metaphor about WWII. The bees are meant to represent the axis powers and the birds represent France and England. When it talks about the Dirty Paws it is referring to the US and the snow creatures are Russia. Also, the Queen Bee is Germany and the forest is meant to represent Europe. In the third verse it mentions "they were scared down in their holes" and this is referencing the men down in the trenches and the new artillery they were facing. It talks about how "she and her furry friends took down the Queen," which is talking about how the US and the allied powers defeated the axis powers. The US is referred to as the Dirty Paws, because of the fact that it has been involved in so many international wars. Each paw represents a different war: The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, WWI, and WWII. "Dirty Paws" is a folk song and it fits those parameters, because it discusses the topic of war, which is a common Iceland folk song topic. This song starts off with an acoustic guitar playing, and then they come in with melody and harmony. After the initial intro, the song amps up by including the electric guitar and the drums, as well as an echoing "hey." There is actually no bridge or chorus in this song, but the melody is very repetitive.
"Dirty Paws," Of Monsters and Men.
"Husavik"
Bibliography:
Briefly about history of Icelandic music. Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://english.arnastofnun.is/page/briefly_about_history_of_icelandic_music
Icelandic music: From viking rhymes to bjork and kaleo. Arctic Adventures. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://adventures.is/information/icelandic-music/#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20Icelandic%20music,back%20to%20the%20Viking%20times.&text=For%20a%20long%20time%2C%20after,between%20priests%20to%20make%20r%C3%ADmur.
Langspil (zither). Edinburgh University Collections. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://collections.ed.ac.uk/stcecilias/record/96021
Of monsters and men - dirty paws lyrics meaning. Lyric Interpretations. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.lyricinterpretations.com/of-monsters-and-men/dirty-paws
Songfacts. (n.d.). Hyperballad by Björk - Songfacts. Song Meanings at Songfacts. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bjork/hyperballad#:~:text=Bj%C3%B6rk%20says%3A%20%22Hyper%2DBallad,Burroughs%2C%20something%20really%20gross%20and
7 times Björk used cutting-edge technology to shape her music. Fact Magazine. (2017, November 24). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.factmag.com/2017/11/24/bjork-technology-instruments-software/
I absolutely loved this blog! The first song that Voces8 did was so beautiful. It’s really cool that their music is uninfluenced, too. I think it’s interesting that only one string that is used for changing pitches, and the other three are drones. I didn’t know that Of Monsters and Men was an Icelandic group; that’s really cool!
Wow! All of this was so interesting to read about! I would’ve never thought to research Icelandic music nor the culture. I think the architecture of the Opera House is so crazily built, but it is so cool to look at! I have listened to the Voces8 a few times while reading and writing my comment, it is just so beautiful and their language is beautiful to listen to also. Nice Job.
The first song is gorgeous and reminds me of Frozen. I love the history and how old a lot of their music is. I like the look of the langspil. It's really cool to see some folk songs in modern form. It's so neat how we can adapt songs to fit our modern world without losing the core meaning.
Hey Tanner! Vikings are so cool!! I really enjoyed this blog. One of the most interesting things I read in this blog was that the Icelandic music wasn't influenced by other cultures because they were isolated. I loved that you included Voces8 and Bjork. They're some of my favorites. I had never heard of Of Monsters and Men but I really enjoyed the song you shared!
Great as usual, Tanner! This was a really fun blog to read. Visiting Iceland is a big one on my bucket list, so it was cool hearing about the music that can be found there. It was really cool hearing about how the tradition of it came from the Vikings and it was really cool learning about the instruments like the langspil and it's relationship to the hurdy gurdy. The music was of course awesome too! It was neat seeing how it slowly developed over the years and started adding more instruments.
Hi Tanner, this was a really nice and informative blog. Ive never researched or learned anything about this genre of music but I think you did a good job of presenting key facts and media examples. The instruments that you introduced were very interesting especially the many ways the langspil is played. It's quite peculiar to hear that it has four strings with only one string playing the melody. Is the instrument played while sitting down?
Tanner-Awesome blog to read! Ive never even thought about this genre that much but upon reading it. I definitely wanna take another look at it in the future. It was really cool knowing that the original music from iceland came from vikings and the styles and traditions that they give were incredible to read through. I think my favorite topic that yo mentioned would be the instrument the langspil. Thanks!
Music and Family Field Study I interviewed my mom, Kimberly Smith, for my family field study project. Me: What is your earliest memory of music? My mom: Listening to mama play music on our radio. Me: What kind of music do you associate with your childhood? My mom: The 80's - Duran Duran, Van Halen, Beastie Boys. Me: Think about younger childhood, middle school years, high school, college–how did it change, evolve? My mom: Elementary I remember Michael Jackson, Rock Springfield, etc. that my parents liked. I also remember all the 80's hair bands, along with groups like Van Halen, Beastie Boys, New Edition, etc. The European invasion of bands like Duran Duran that my sister loved still sticks with me. I would love to see Duran Duran or New Edition in concert. ...
High School Graduation For my blog, I chose to discuss music and rites; in particular, I chose to discuss music in a high school graduation. The reason I chose high school graduation is because it is both something I have experienced and a rite of passage into the world. Graduation is when young adults reflect back on the times they had, look forward to the future, and go out into the world on their own for the first time. The music that is used in graduation ceremonies is full of nostalgia, love, excitement, hope, and a tinge of sadness. My graduation included various styles and genres of music, including songs that exhibit the emotions I previously stated. One of the songs that was played at my graduation was "Whenever You Remember," by Carrie Underwood. This song was played at the beginning before the ceremony began and it served to set the mood of the ceremony. The purpose of playing this song at the...
Powwow Healing Dance We have discussed the significance of the Powwow in Native American culture and how it unifies the members of that culture. During Powwows there are dance competitions and I found the costumes that they wore to be interesting, so I looked up specific dances and the costumes' significance to that dance. I chose to learn about the Healing Dance. In this video the dance is being performed by the Northern Cree and they are a powwow, round dance, drum, and singing group. The Healing dance, also known as the Jingle dance, was created during a time in history when many people were getting sick and a lot of the children were becoming incredibly ill. A man that was in their village who was worried about his daughter prayed to the great mystery and he received a vision in a dream. In that vision he was told to help the people, and he saw four women who were each dressed idiosyncratically. The dresses they wore were covered wi...
I absolutely loved this blog! The first song that Voces8 did was so beautiful. It’s really cool that their music is uninfluenced, too. I think it’s interesting that only one string that is used for changing pitches, and the other three are drones. I didn’t know that Of Monsters and Men was an Icelandic group; that’s really cool!
ReplyDeleteWow! All of this was so interesting to read about! I would’ve never thought to research Icelandic music nor the culture. I think the architecture of the Opera House is so crazily built, but it is so cool to look at! I have listened to the Voces8 a few times while reading and writing my comment, it is just so beautiful and their language is beautiful to listen to also. Nice Job.
ReplyDeleteThe first song is gorgeous and reminds me of Frozen. I love the history and how old a lot of their music is. I like the look of the langspil. It's really cool to see some folk songs in modern form. It's so neat how we can adapt songs to fit our modern world without losing the core meaning.
ReplyDeleteHey Tanner! Vikings are so cool!! I really enjoyed this blog. One of the most interesting things I read in this blog was that the Icelandic music wasn't influenced by other cultures because they were isolated. I loved that you included Voces8 and Bjork. They're some of my favorites. I had never heard of Of Monsters and Men but I really enjoyed the song you shared!
ReplyDeleteGreat as usual, Tanner! This was a really fun blog to read. Visiting Iceland is a big one on my bucket list, so it was cool hearing about the music that can be found there. It was really cool hearing about how the tradition of it came from the Vikings and it was really cool learning about the instruments like the langspil and it's relationship to the hurdy gurdy. The music was of course awesome too! It was neat seeing how it slowly developed over the years and started adding more instruments.
ReplyDeleteHi Tanner, this was a really nice and informative blog. Ive never researched or learned anything about this genre of music but I think you did a good job of presenting key facts and media examples. The instruments that you introduced were very interesting especially the many ways the langspil is played. It's quite peculiar to hear that it has four strings with only one string playing the melody. Is the instrument played while sitting down?
ReplyDeleteTanner-Awesome blog to read! Ive never even thought about this genre that much but upon reading it. I definitely wanna take another look at it in the future. It was really cool knowing that the original music from iceland came from vikings and the styles and traditions that they give were incredible to read through. I think my favorite topic that yo mentioned would be the instrument the langspil. Thanks!
ReplyDelete