15 May 2024: Hallgrímur’s Church (Reykjavik, Iceland)

A Church Like No Other

We arrived in Iceland in the afternoon on Tuesday 14 May. We had booked a hire car and drove to our Airbnb in Reykjavik.

On Wednesday Cathy stayed in bed while recovering from Covid. We were meant to have dinner with Cathy’s friend Élisabet (an Icelandic harp player) from 40 year ago in Holland, but we had to cancel. We did catch up with her after our circumnavigation of Iceland.

In the late morning I headed up to the Hallgrímskirkja (Hallgrímur’s Church) and was delighted to learn there was an organ recital at 12:00pm. I recorded the performance on my iPhone and the result is not too bad (links to the recording at the end of this post).

Airport (Keflavik) to Reykjavik

This was our first view of Iceland on the road from the airport at Keflavik to Reykjavik (Iceland’s capital). Photo taken on 14 May 2024.

Auto-generated description: A vast, open landscape with a flat, barren terrain stretches towards distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

This is a lava field with sparse vegetation on the Reyjanes peninsula. We saw a lot of these colours and this type of landscape.

Hallgrímskirkja

The Church of Hallgrímur is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík. It was built between 1945 and 1986.

State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson’s design was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland’s landscape, in particular its columnar basalt ‘organ pipe’ formations (such as those at Svartifoss). Foss is Icelandic for waterfall: we visited quite a few, including Svarifoss.

The church is named after the Icelandic poet and cleric Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

As a sacred space and striking piece of architecture, this church is up there with the Segrada Familia in Barcelona.

I love the elongated aesthetic and dramatic façade.

Auto-generated description: A large, distinctive church with a tall spire and scaffolding around one section stands behind some young trees.

Auto-generated description: A towering concrete church with a distinctive stepped facade and clock, set against a cloudy sky.

Auto-generated description: A tall, uniquely designed church with a clock and cross at its peak stands prominently with a statue in the foreground and people walking around the area.

Façade with statue of Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson

Leifr Eiricsson, sometimes called the Leif Eiricsson Memorial, is a statue of Norse explorer Leif Erikson created by American artist Alexander Stirling Calder.

It commissioned by the United States government as a gift to the Icelandic people for the 1,000th anniversary of the Alþingi (national parliament of Iceland) in 1930. It is one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the world.

The statue was unveiled on July 17, 1932, in Reykjavík, Iceland atop a hill overlooking the city.

Statue of Leif Erikson (Reykjavík)

Auto-generated description: A bronze statue depicts a historical figure standing confidently, holding an axe and wearing detailed armor and a cape.

Auto-generated description: A detailed statue of a man dressed in armor with a contemplative expression is depicted.

The Plaque over the Main Entrance

My AI buddy translates this as:

When you enter the house of God,
Take good care of your soul’s purity,
Do not raise your voice to your Lord.

With modesty and an empty heart,
Bend the knee of the flesh and the heart,
Your strong prayers and intentions,
Will be heard in honour.

Quite a stern warning and not very welcoming. A bit out of touch with 21st century ideas. The Lutheran church in Iceland is Evangelical, so maybe they still do think like this.

The Johannes Klais Organ

The church is a huge space with a huge acoustic and a huge organ to fill it with sound.

The original organ, installed in 1946, was moved to the south wing to make way for a new organ. This organ was commission in 1985 from Frobenius, but by 1988 the church council decided it wasn’t big enough and commissioned another from the German builder Johannes Klais or Bonn.

There are 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes. It is 15 metres tall and weighs 25 metric tons.

Its construction was finished in December 1992.

It organ really is a monster and as you’ll hear in the recordings, it sounds magnificent.

Auto-generated description: A grand and intricate pipe organ with numerous polished metal pipes is housed within a tall, cathedral-like archway.

Auto-generated description: A grand, spacious church interior features a massive pipe organ mounted above large wooden doors, with tall arched ceilings and classical statues flanking either side.

Auto-generated description: A grand organ is displayed at the end of a cathedral aisle with people walking and sitting on the pews.

Auto-generated description: A large, intricate pipe organ is installed within a tall, arched interior space.

Auto-generated description: A large organ console with a music sheet placed above the keyboards and numerous stops sits in a well-lit room.

The console is free standing and can be move around.

Auto-generated description: A wooden pulpit inside a spacious, modern church with a few people standing and sitting on benches.

This photo was taken 23 May on our second visit. This is the back of the console and you can see the chord that connects it to the organ.

The Altar (south wing)

The altar is at the opposite end of the church from the organ. There is beautiful lighting and a subdued colour scheme. The space is clean and open and austere (in a good way). A truly sacred space.

Auto-generated description: A grand, modern church interior features high arched ceilings, large vertical windows, and rows of pews leading towards the altar.

Auto-generated description: A grand, vaulted interior features tall, slender windows and a spacious, cathedral-like design with graceful archways.

Auto-generated description: A view of the interior of a large, minimalist, cathedral-like church featuring tall, narrow windows, an arched ceiling, and a simple altar at the end.

Auto-generated description: A grand pipe organ with an intricate wooden facade and shiny metal pipes stands in a bright room with high windows.

Rieger-Kloss organ installed in 1946.

The Recital

Just as we were lucky in London to stumble upon an Evensong at St Martin-in-the-Fields, I arrived in time to hear an organ recital.

You can hear the grand acoustic on the recordings. Also the power of the organ.

The Bach was played very sensitively with a good sense of style — good articulation and clear phrasing. It’s a trio sonata: that is, the organist’s two hands and feet each play three separate lines of music.

The composer of the second piece — Foss (waterfall) — was present and took a bow. This was its first public performance and it was a real treat to be present. It’s a short work that portrays the varying moods and power of an Icelandic waterfall.

I didn’t know the Mendelssohn organ sonata. It also displays the full range and capabilities of the organ.

LISTAHÁSKÓLI ÍSLANDS
Iceland University of the Arts

Brautartónleikar Listaháskóla Íslands - 2024
\15. maí kl. 12:00

Orgeltónleikar i Hallgrimskirkju
(Organ concert in Hallgrímskirkja)

Organist: Pétur Nói Stefánsson