This edition was prepared by Roar Kvam — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Dettifoss
Staff Notation • Secular, Lieder
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Dettifoss by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson — Lyrics
Þar sem aldrei á grjóti gráu
gullin mót sólu hlæja blóm
og ginnhvítar öldur gljúfrin háu
grimmefldum nísta heljarklóm,
kveður þú, foss, minn forni vinur,
með fimbulrómi sí og æ;
undir þér bergið sterka stynur,
sem strá í næturkuldablæ.
Kveður þú ljóð um hali horfna
og hetjulíf á fyrri öld;
talar þú margt um frelsið forna
og frægðarinnar dapra kvöld.
Ljósgeislar á þér leika skærir,
liðnir frá sól í gegnum ský;
regnbogalitir titra tærir
tröllauknum bárum þínum í.
Ægilegur og undrafríður
ertú, ið mikla fossaval;
aflrammur jafnt þú áfram líður
í eyðilegum hamrasal.
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About Dettifoss
Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson’s Dettifoss is a powerful TTBB setting of an Icelandic poem that vividly describes the Dettifoss waterfall. The music captures the awe-inspiring force and beauty of nature, with the male voices likely conveying the raw power and majesty of the cascading water and the surrounding landscape. The text speaks of the waterfall's ancient and enduring presence, its song of past heroes and forgotten ages, and its eternal, thunderous roar. It also reflects on the passage of time and the contrast between the waterfall's unchanging might and the ephemeral nature of human experience. This Lieder-style composition offers a dramatic and evocative interpretation of Icelandic nature and history.
