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Artist: Johann Johannsson
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Johann Johannsson:

A Prayer to the Dynamo

Deutsche Grammophon is proud to release the world premiere recording of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s A Prayer to the Dynamo. This major orchestral work was inspired in general by the composer’s fascination with technology, and in particular by field recordings he made at Iceland’s Elliðaár power plant and the writings of Henry Adams. It is paired on this new album with two suites compiled and arranged by the composer from existing material drawn from his Academy Award-nominated scores for Sicario and The Theory of Everything, also recorded here for the first time. 

Daníel Bjarnason conducts the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in recordings made at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík. With booklet notes by renowned music writer and radio host John Schaefer, in conversation with Jóhannsson’s father, Jóhann Gunnarsson, A Prayer to the Dynamo will be released on CD, vinyl (2 LPs) and digitally on 15 September 2023. Three taster tracks will be shared over the summer: “A Model of the Universe” and “Forces of Attraction” (both from The Theory of Everything) on 30 June and 28 July respectively, with Part 1 of A Prayer to the Dynamo following on 25 August. 

A Prayer to the Dynamo was written in response to a commission from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It received its first, and so far only performance at the orchestra’s New Music Festival on 3 February 2012. As noted by the festival’s curator, composer Matthew Patton, it represented a turning-point in Jóhannsson’s career, having been written without any of the narrative constraints involved in composing for film. “He never wrote a piece for orchestra this big, this long, and with this much freedom.” This recording will turn a much-deserved spotlight on to a work Patton has described as a “lost symphony” and introduce it to audiences worldwide. 

Johann Johannsson:

Drone Mass

The previously unrecorded Drone Mass was described by its composer, the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, as “a contemporary oratorio”. Written for voices, string quartet and electronics, it was commissioned and premiered by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, aka ACME, who toured and recorded with Jóhannsson for almost ten years. Now they have made the world premiere recording of this richly atmospheric work, in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, conducted by Paul Hillier, also a multiple Grammy Award-winner. The members of both ACME and Theatre of Voices worked closely with the composer many times, both in the studio and in multiple live performances and tours, before his untimely death. The album will be released by Deutsche Grammophon, digitally as well as on CD and 180g vinyl, on 18 March 2022. 

Drone Mass is an extraordinary, mysterious accomplishment which at times bears comparison with the meditative minimalism of composers such as Arvo Pärt or Henryk Górecki. Beginning with strings and voices, but slowly integrating Jóhannsson’s electronic techniques into its landscape, the work represents what the Icelandic composer called “a distillation of a lot of influences and obsessions”. 

ACME players for this recording are Clarice Jensen, artistic director and cello; Ben Russell, violin;  Laura Lutzke, violin; and Caleb Burhans, viola. Theatre of Voices singers for this recording are Else Torp, Kate Macoboy, Signe Asmussen, Iris Oja,  Paul Bentley-Angell, Jakob Skjoldborg, Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Steffen Bruun, Paul Hillier, conductor

Johann Johannsson:

Englaboorn & Variations

During the weeks before his untimely passing on February 9, award-winning Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was closely involved in preparations for the reissue of his debut album, Englabörn. Originally released in 2002, the record had been especially remastered, and a second disc containing reworkings of a number of its tracks had also been assembled. Some were by Jóhannsson himself – including a piano version of the title track, performed by fellow Deutsche Grammophon artist Víkingur Ólafsson – while others involved included Ryuichi Sakamoto, A Winged Victory for the Sullen and Hildur Guðnadóttir. Following discussions with his family, the release of Englabörn & Variations went ahead on March 23, 2018.

Johann Johannsson:

The Mercy

From Academy Award-winning director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man of Wire) comes The Mercy, a tale of yachtsman Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth)'s disastrous attempt to win the 1968 Golden Globe Race that results in his outrageous account of traveling the world alone by sea. The soundtrack for The Mercy features music by Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival, mother!). The music is a combination of newly written, commercial orchestral scores, and existing pieces from Jóhannsson´s catalog, such as Orphée, Englabörn, Free The Mind and Copenhagen Dreams.

Johann Johannsson:

Orphee

Jóhann Jóhannsson, the Golden Globe-winning, Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy-nominated composer's first album for Deutsche Grammophon, is a meditation on beauty and the process of creation. Orphée traces a path from darkness into light, inspired by the various retellings of the old story of the poet Orpheus, from Ovid's to Jean Cocteau's. A many-layered story about death, rebirth, change and the ephemeral nature of memory, the myth can also be read as a metaphor for artistic creation - about the elusive nature of beauty and its relation to the artist, as well as the idea that art is created through transgression - by the poet defying the gods who forbade him, to turn back towards his beloved as he leaves the Underworld. The new album is set for a September 16th release date on Deutsche Grammophon.

14 NEW   58 TOTAL
SYND: NPR/First Listen, ATC, PRI/Echoes, Quiet Music
Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD, Stingray
Markets include: New York, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Detroit, Milwaukee, Berkeley CA, Albuquerque, Orlando, El Paso, Salt Lake City
INTER: Canada, UK, Spain, Romania
Online: Pitchfork, Musicas Imaginadas, Zephyr Planet Radio, The Awl, MainlyPiano.com, One World Radio, Journeyscapes, All Music, Brooklyn Vegan, Lost Frontier, Pitchfork, The Hollywood Reporter, AV CLUB