Hallgrímskirkja Choir Autumn Concert Are you ready for Christmas? / We'll Bach you up for Christmas!

LUNCH CONCERTS / Matinée

– Have you finished Bach for Christmas?

Saturday, December 6th at 12 noon

Tomas Gudni Eggertsson, organ

David Thor Jonsson piano

In this quiet concert on the eve of Christmas, organist Tómas Guðni Eggertsson and pianist Davíð Þór Jónsson perform selected Christmas carol overtures by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The overtures can be found in the manuscript Orgelbüchlein, or Little Organ Book, which Felix Mendelssohn had printed in the first half of the 19th century.

Bach's hymn preludes are performed here in an innovative way, which the two playing partners have developed in recent years – and is still developing – where Davíð Þór improvises on the church grand piano around the preludes that Tómas Guðni plays on the Klais organ. The organ's registers are also changed compared to the traditional performance. However, there is no deviation from respect for the works themselves and their original message.

David Thor Jonsson (b. 1978) is one of the country's leading and most versatile musicians, equally skilled at piano, improvisation, composition and conducting, as well as playing a myriad of instruments. He has performed at music festivals around the world, composed music and soundtracks for numerous stage plays, films, radio works and television programs, and worked closely with a number of artists from different fields, including his close collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson. Davíð Þór has received the Icelandic Music Award and the Gríma Award, as well as international awards for the film scores for Hross í oss and Kona fer í stríð.

Thomas Gudni Eggertsson (b. 1974) graduated in piano from the New Music School in the spring of 1996, with Vilhelmín Ólafsdóttir. He continued his studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, where he completed a BA in 1999 and a Postgraduate degree a year later. He completed a solo course in organ performance from the Icelandic Church Music School in 2007 and a cantor's degree afterwards, where his main teacher was Björn Steinar Sólbergsson. Last June, Tómas Guðni graduated with a master's degree in organ performance from the Gothenburg Academy of Music, under the guidance of Karin Nelson.

Tómas Guðni has taught music all over the country, both on piano and wind instruments. He has also worked with different artists in various fields of music, such as Ólafur Kjartan Sigurðarson, Davíð Þór Jónsson, Dimitri Ashkenazy, Þóra Einarsdóttir and Sveinn Dúa Hjörleifsson, and with unforgettable choirs such as Schola Cantorum, Voces Masculorum and Karlakórinn Fóstbræður. He has also dabbled in composition and arrangements.

At the organ, Tómas Guðni has performed in solo concerts in Iceland and Sweden and has also participated in the performance of larger works in the field of church music. He works as music director and organist at Seljakirkja Church.

Ticket office at Hallgrímskirkja

Admission fee 2,900 kr.

HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA – YOUR PLACE IN DECEMBER