his life’s motif - a lake in the woods - but is continually thwarted by trees that stand in the way. By the time he finds what he is looking for, it is too late. Dusk is falling and soon it will be night. Xanties begins where Proust ends - a restless, feverish dialogue with instruments and voices about “xanties”, the swarms of night. In the prologue the composer writes: “We hear the song of the swarms of night. It is like the song of the unicorn and the maiden, the song of the donkey and the ox on Christmas Eve.” Shortly afterwards, he composed a trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano that is more directly naturalistically lyrical in its mood. Plutdt blanche qu azuree {,Rather white than azure) is the title of this work that is linked with impressions of nature during a summer in Langeland in Denmark. The work can even be regarded as programme music describing a summer day. “The day’s zenith arrives when the G-major chord breaks forth and the long, slow coda can be imagined to represent a sunset.” But the treeless scenery of Iceland is also included in the music. “When abroad, one on the whole experiences a very limited distance in the countryside . . . but in Iceland you can always see very far - the horizon lies a long way off - and this thought characterized Plutdt to a large extent.” Musically the work is a slowly moving composition in a neo-romantic language, sometimes ardent, sometimes apathetic in mood. The distinctive piano piece Gloria (1981) can also be referred to this sort of romanticism where naturalistic lyric- ism and a religious theme are combined. In this work Atli Heimir Sveinsson wordlessly meditates on the Christmas Gospel reading “Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax . . .”, that is to say, the angels’ song of praise at the birth of Jesus. “I wondered how this song could have sounded - the song of the angels, of the planets, of the universe; a lullaby, a nocturne, a hymn - all in one.” Gloria makes use of sudden shifts between romantic and modem modes of expression in a way that is superficially reminiscent of Messiaen. One is reminded of the song of the donkey and ox, here realized in the form of a canon between the highest and lowest register of the piano. 05ur steinsins (1983) is also a meditation, or more correctly thirty rather romantic meditations for piano, recitation and slide projectors with pictures from the north of

(1) Front Board
(2) Front Board
(3) Front Flyleaf
(4) Front Flyleaf
(5) Front Cover
(6) Front Cover
(7) Page [1]
(8) Page [2]
(9) Page I
(10) Page II
(11) Page III
(12) Page IV
(13) Page 1
(14) Page 2
(15) Page 3
(16) Page 4
(17) Page 5
(18) Page 6
(19) Page 7
(20) Page 8
(21) Page 9
(22) Page 10
(23) Page 11
(24) Page 12
(25) Page 13
(26) Page 14
(27) Page 15
(28) Page 16
(29) Page 17
(30) Page 18
(31) Page 19
(32) Page 20
(33) Page 21
(34) Page 22
(35) Page 23
(36) Page 24
(37) Page 25
(38) Page 26
(39) Page 27
(40) Page 28
(41) Page 29
(42) Page 30
(43) Page 31
(44) Page 32
(45) Page 33
(46) Page 34
(47) Page 35
(48) Page 36
(49) Page 37
(50) Page 38
(51) Page 39
(52) Page 40
(53) Page 41
(54) Page 42
(55) Page 43
(56) Page 44
(57) Page 45
(58) Page 46
(59) Page 47
(60) Page 48
(61) Page 49
(62) Page 50
(63) Page 51
(64) Page 52
(65) Page 53
(66) Page 54
(67) Page 55
(68) Page 56
(69) Page 57
(70) Page 58
(71) Page 59
(72) Page 60
(73) Page 61
(74) Page 62
(75) Page 63
(76) Page 64
(77) Page 65
(78) Page 66
(79) Page 67
(80) Page 68
(81) Page 69
(82) Page 70
(83) Page 71
(84) Page 72
(85) Page 73
(86) Page 74
(87) Page 75
(88) Page 76
(89) Page 77
(90) Page 78
(91) Page 79
(92) Page 80
(93) Page 81
(94) Page 82
(95) Page 83
(96) Page 84
(97) Page 85
(98) Page 86
(99) Page 87
(100) Page 88
(101) Page 89
(102) Page 90
(103) Page 91
(104) Page 92
(105) Page 93
(106) Page 94
(107) Page 95
(108) Page 96
(109) Page 97
(110) Page 98
(111) Page 99
(112) Page 100
(113) Page 101
(114) Page 102
(115) Page 103
(116) Page 104
(117) Page 105
(118) Page 106
(119) Page 107
(120) Page 108
(121) Page 109
(122) Page 110
(123) Page 111
(124) Page 112
(125) Page 113
(126) Page 114
(127) Page 115
(128) Page 116
(129) Page 117
(130) Page 118
(131) Page 119
(132) Page 120
(133) Page 121
(134) Page 122
(135) Page 123
(136) Page 124
(137) Page 125
(138) Page 126
(139) Page 127
(140) Page 128
(141) Page 129
(142) Page 130
(143) Page 131
(144) Page 132
(145) Page 133
(146) Page 134
(147) Page 135
(148) Page 136
(149) Page 137
(150) Page 138
(151) Page 139
(152) Page 140
(153) Page 141
(154) Page 142
(155) Page 143
(156) Page 144
(157) Page 145
(158) Page 146
(159) Page 147
(160) Page 148
(161) Page 149
(162) Page 150
(163) Page 151
(164) Page 152
(165) Page 153
(166) Page 154
(167) Page 155
(168) Page 156
(169) Page 157
(170) Page 158
(171) Page 159
(172) Page 160
(173) Page 161
(174) Page 162
(175) Page 163
(176) Page 164
(177) Page 165
(178) Page 166
(179) Page 167
(180) Page 168
(181) Page 169
(182) Page 170
(183) Page 171
(184) Page 172
(185) Page 173
(186) Page 174
(187) Page 175
(188) Page 176
(189) Page 177
(190) Page 178
(191) Back Cover
(192) Back Cover
(193) Rear Flyleaf
(194) Rear Flyleaf
(195) Rear Board
(196) Rear Board
(197) Spine
(198) Fore Edge
(199) Scale
(200) Color Palette