Erlendis Veronique Vaka

• Veronique Vaka (b. 1986):
• 1Minning um Himinn06:31
• 2Verndari06:50
• 3Hvönn08:29
• 4Gætni04:32
• 5Vestur01:28
• Total Runtime27:50

Info for Erlendis

The title of Veroníque Vaka’s album Erlendis is an Icelandic word and would translate to English as a place that is foreign to you. Moving to a different country made her rethink the relation between classical music and soundscape. In this project, string ensemble, piano and field recording are at the core of her research. She explored the use of these elements, working with them as a living organism and experiencing them as a whole. The piece Hvönn was especially written for the pianist and composer Björn Pálmi Pálmason, with whom she also co-wrote the piano score of Verndari.

After a year of work, capturing sounds from her new environment and composing the scores of Erlendis, she went to the Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik. There, she recorded string ensemble, piano and wind section with local musicians and Paul Evans as sound engineer, who later mastered the project. Veroníque Vaka teamed up with Alex Somers for the mixing of the album. Their work together quickly became part of the creative process as Alex recorded Veroníque’s voice on Minning um himinn and put a few additional instruments into the production. They kept in mind the purity and breathing of acoustic instruments and their sensibility.

Erlendis by Veroníque Vaka is a five title album of ambient and classical music, composed and recorded in Iceland during 2014. The artwork is made by Urban9, an artist from Montreal who brought the final touch to this project.

Veronique Vaka, cello, voice
Kari James Pestka, violin
Anna Soley Asmundsdöttir, violin
Sölrün Gunhardsdöttir, violin
Unruh Jonsdöttir, cello
Magnus Palsson, clarinet
Maria Jönsson, bass flute
Alex Somers, additional instruments

Veronique Vaka
born in 1986, is an Icelandic-based Canadian cellist and composer. She studied classical cello performance at Vincent-d’Indy, and continued her studies in electro-acoustic composition at the University of Montreal. She completed a Master's degree in music composition from the Iceland University of the Arts under the guidance of Páll Ragnar Pálsson, Þuríður Jónsdóttir and Daníel Bjarnason. Veronique took a step towards a more abstract approach to her music when she started her research: From Landscape to Music Notation. The intention of her work is to create a poetic context between what she sees, hears and feels in the unspoiled nature, and combine it into a musical composition. Her composition style can be described as organic, with an emphasis on small details such as rhythmic, textural, and timbral elements.

Veronique Vaka has composed works for the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Sinfóníuhljómsveit Áhugamanna's Orchestra, Ensemble Paramirabo, Duo Harpverk, Ensemble Synaesthesis, Ensemble Adapter, Caput Ensemble, Siggi String Quartet, Ensemble Dasein, Nordic Affect and a Violin Concerto for Una Sveinbjarnardóttir. Her works have been performed during Myrkir Músíkdagar/ Dark Music Days (2018, 2019) and Sumartónleikar í Skálholti (2018). Among upcoming projects is the release by the label Sono Luminus of Lendh with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Daníel Bjarnason.

Veronique is a member of the Society of Icelandic Composers (Tónskáldafélag Íslands) and an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre. Her works have been supported by the Artists’ Salary Fund (2019), RÚV/STEF Composers’ Fund (2018, 2019), YRKJA (2017) and the Canada Council for the Arts (2012-13).

Veronique Vaka is currently writing a Cello Concerto for Sæunn Thorsteinsdottir.

This album contains no booklet.