in HARPA Music Hall – Hörpuhorni (Harpa corner on the second floor)

Good Friday, April 15 2022, 12 noon – 5 pm

THE FRIENDS OF THE ARTS SOCIETY IN REYKJAVIK 40th SEASON – HARPA MUSIC HALL AND CONFERENCE CENTER

COMPLETE READING OF THE HYMNS OF THE PASSION BY HALLGRÍMUR PÉTURSSON

READER: Halldór Hauksson

MUSIC PERFORMED BY members of the Motet Choir and chamber choir Schola Cantorum conducted by Hörður Áskelsson

The Friends of the Arts Society in Reykjavík, celebrating its 40th season, arranges a reading of the complete Hymns of the Passion by Hallgrímur Pétursson, in cooperation with Harpa Music Hall. The Society previously organized the reading of the hymns in Hallgrímskirkja for 30 years with a broad array of readers.

The Hymns of the Passion are the great masterpiece of Icelandic baroque literature. Written by priest and poet Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), they explore the Passion narrative from Christ‘s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane to his death and burial. Published for the first time in 1666, the psalms immediately struck a chord with the Icelandic public and have been sung and read in Icelandic churches and homes during the Lenten season all through the centuries. No Icelandic book has been printed as often as the Hymns of the Passion and the hymns have been translated into several languages.

Halldór Hauksson has read the Hymns of the Passion publicly every year since 2014. „Sometimes I wonder why religious poetry from the 17th century still resounds in the souls of so many Icelanders,“ he says. „I think the reason is that although people‘s worldview and daily life has changed so much since Hallgrímur‘s time, the core of human existence remains the same. Few writers have expressed and interpreted sorrow and anxiety in such a deeply personal and moving way, but in the hymns you also find numerous unsurpassed variations on the themes of love, gratitude and the eternal hope for a better life.“

The reading of the hymns lasts approximately five hours. The athmosphere will be informal and guests can come and go as they like. Music will be performed at intervals during the programme.

Hnoss Restaurant on the first floor of Harpa will be open during the reading.

Admission to the reading is free and all are welcome!