There is an evaporating quality to the music of Icelandic composer and conductor Daníel Bjarnason, with sounds that can start softly or loudly, serenely or fiercely, but ultimately dissipate into intangible air. This album, conducted by the composer himself, showcases this characteristic in three captivating works in all-new versions. In Bow to String, the three movements undergo a mesmerising transformation from a pounding passacaglia to an exhale of frozen breath. In Over Light Earth, the sounds tremble before dispersing to the far edges of the orchestra. And in the Larkin Songs, Bjarnason reflects on fleeting companionship and love.

This album is the Dacapo Records debut album of the Icelandic composer and conductor Daníel Bjarnason (b. 1979).

In Bjarnason’s music is characterised by a sense of evaporation and of earthly things transforming into ethereal ones, as atmospheric sounds seem to dissolve into something airyairy.

In Over Light Earth, Bjarnason’s orchestra is augmented with two pianos, which are positioned at opposite sides of the ensemble, as far apart as possible. The work is inspired by two masterpieces of American abstract expressionist painting : Mark Rothko’s No.9 (Dark Over Light Earth) of 1954, and Jackson Pollock’s Number 1, 1949.

Bow to String is recorded here for the first time in a new version for cello and orchestra created in 2022. Inspired by a performance work, big band ballad styled walking bass and bluesy harmonies are deconstructed throughout the work.

The three Larkin Songs, with texts by poet Philip Larkin, dwell on the companionship and love that becomes a mirage even as we hold it in our arms. Bjarnason renders this dramatically in musical phrases that are never far from fading away.