Nico
Muhly,

Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Tvi?so?ngur is a specific type of Icelandic two-part singing found both in manuscripts and in oral traditions. Some of the tradition seems, like much early music, to stem from an exercise in voice-leading, and other examples are more social, impromptu, and secular. These arrangements attempt to frame the tradition through orchestration and wildly shifting contexts, lighting effects, and textures.