Jóhann Jóhannsson announces new record inspired by "the Orpheus myth"

18 July 2016, 12:20 | Written by Laurence Day

(News)

(Jóhann Jóhannsson)

Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has announce Orphée, his first solo record in six years.

He's also shared the beautiful album opener, "Flight From The City".

Described as "a meditation on beauty and the process of creation", the Icelandic composer's new record is inspired by retellings of the story of Orpheus.

“Orphée is for me about changes: about moving to a new city, leaving behind an old life in Copenhagen and building a new one in Berlin - about the death of old relationships and the birth of new ones”, says Jóhannsson. “Perhaps this is one if the reasons I was drawn to the Orpheus myth, which is fundamentally about change, mutability, death, rebirth, the elusive nature of beauty and its sometimes thorny relation to the artist. This album, my first solo record for six years, is an oblique reflection on personal change.”

The record features Jóhannsson (piano, electronics, pipe organ, electric organs), Hildur Guðnadóttir (cello), thr American Contemporary Music Ensemble, yjr AIR Lyndhurst String Orchestra (conducted by Anthony Weeden), and the Theatre of Voices (conducted by Paul Hillier).

Orphée is out via Deutsche Grammophon on 16 September.

Check out "Flight From The City" below. The LP's tracklist and Jóhannsson's upcoming live dates are afterwards.

Tracklist:

1. Flight From The City
2. A Song For Europa
3. The Drowned World
4. A Deal With Chaos
5. A Pile Of Dust
6. A Sparrow Alighted Upon Our Shoulder
7. Fragment I
8. By The Roes, And By The Hinds Of The Field
9. The Radiant City
10. Fragment II
11. The Burning Mountain
12. De Luce Et Umbra
13. Good Morning, Midnight
14. Good Night, Day
15. Orphic Hymn

October

16 - US, Chicago - Thalia Hall
18 - US, Minneapolis - The Cedar
19 - US, Toronto - Danforth Music Hall
20 - US, Montreal - Cinquième Salle
21 - US, Boston - David Friend Recital Hall
23 - US, Brooklyn - Cathedral of St. Joseph

December

1 - DE, Berlin – Funkhaus
2 - NL, Nijmegen - Doornroosje
3 - DK, Copenhagen - Bremen Theater
4 - NL, Amsterdam - Paradiso
5 - BE, Leuven - 30CC
6 - FR, Paris - L'alhambra
7 - BE, Hasselt - CCHA
9 - UK, London - Barbican

February 2017

10 - DE, Hamburg - Elbphilharmonie

March 2017

25 - US, Durham - Baldwin Auditorium

April 2017

17 - US, Los Angeles - Walt Disney Concert Hall
18 - US, San Francisco - Regency Ballroom
20 - US, Seattle - Nordstrom Recital Hall