Classics Today: 10/10; Gramophone: Outstanding; International Record Review: Outstanding.

Few composers have been as consistently preoccupied with their national origins as Jón Leifs, who only discovered his calling as a composer when he encountered a collection of Icelandic folk music. From the start, Iceland – its music and myths, its landscapes and climate – furnished him with the inspiration for nearly all of his compositions.

From the very beginning, Leifs envisioned creating a monumental oratorio based on texts from the Edda, Iceland's national treasure. He began work on the libretto in 1930, choosing The Creation of the World as the theme for the first section. However, it wasn’t until 1935 that he could start composing the music for Edda I, which he completed in 1939.

Largely due to the highly challenging choral writing, Edda I was never performed in its entirety during Leifs’ lifetime. The first complete performance only occurred in 2006, in conjunction with the recording of the present disc. Disheartened by the lack of early success, Leifs moved on to other projects but returned to the subject in 1951 to begin work on Edda II, completing it in 1966. Unfortunately, Edda III was left unfinished at his death in 1968.

Edda I consists of thirteen movements, each depicting a part of the creation according to Nordic mythology. These movements include Sea, Earth, Heaven, Sun, and others. Leifs’ music vividly portrays nature, featuring hallmarks of his style such as parallel fifths and irregular metric patterns. The scoring is among his most colorful and inspired, employing Nordic lurs, an extended percussion section, and a rich orchestral palette.

This landmark work in Icelandic music is performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Schola Cantorum choir under the baton of Hermann Bäumer – a collaboration that previously delivered the acclaimed Viking’s Answer on BIS.

Interested in hearing the next part of this monumental series? Explore Edda Part II here.