There was a great festive mood in the beautifully decorated Eldborg Hall in Harpa Concert Hall on Sunday, December 29, when the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society held its Festive Final Concert in front of a packed audience and in the presence of the President of Iceland, Mrs. Halla Tómasdóttir.

The Motet Choir, the chamber choir Schola Cantorum, the Reykjavík International Baroque Orchestra and the soloists, soprano Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir, countertenor Alex Potter and bass Jóhann Kristinsson, performed the Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 by Johann Sebastian Bach under the direction of Benedikt Kristjánsson, who was also the tenor soloist and interpreted the role of the Evangelist.

The concert was the final event held by the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society, formerly of Hallgrímskirkja, during a illustrious 42-year career that has long earned a place of honour in Iceland‘s cultural history. The concert was extremely successful and will be remembered for a long time. It was very fitting that Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, this most famous work of Christmas music, should be played at this concert, as Bach’s music has been a common thread in the activities of the Society since the beginning and the oratorio was performed at the first concert of the Reykjavík International Baroque Orchestra in Hallgrímskirkja in 2004. The excellent instrumentalists of the orchestra have regularly come to Iceland for the last 20 years performing masterpieces of baroque music together with the Motet Choir and Schola Cantorum under the direction of Hörður Áskelsson.

A five-star review of the concert by music critic Magnús Lyngdal Magnússon appeared in the daily Morgunblaðið. After praising the musicians and describing the performance as “first-class in every aspect”, Magnússon writes:

“The Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society and the two choirs have been delighting Icelanders (and actually many more) for decades. Their repertoire throughout the years has not only been ambitious, but also elegantly programmed and presented. The Society will be sorely missed as a concert organizer.

Many people have put their hands to the plow, but the visionary work of managing director Inga Rós Ingólfsdóttir and artistic director Hörður Áskelsson has to be especially mentioned. It was therefore quite an emotional moment when they stepped on the stage of Eldborg after the performance to a standing ovation. That was a fitting tribute and a reminder that we should thank their selfless contribution to Icelandic music life for decades.”

 Read A five-star review of the concert by music critic Magnús Lyngdal Magnússon here.

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