Björk Orkestral is an "unplugged" concert series by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic musician
Björk. Originally announced for the summer of 2020,
all concert dates were delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
A four-part concert series was later announced for August 2020 at the
Harpa
''Harpa'', common name the "harp snails", is a genus of large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Harpidae.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P. (2015). Harpa Röding, 1798. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register ...
concert hall in Reykjavik, then rescheduled to October and November 2021 due to new restrictions against the pandemic by the Icelandic government. Each date featured different musicians, instrumentation and set lists and all four concerts were live streamed to raise money for Kvennaathvarfið, a women's shelter in Reykjavik. Over 100 Icelandic musicians joined Björk on stage across the four matinee performances, which were some of the first live performances with an audience by a major international singer since
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
crippled the live music industry.
Background and concept
After touring her "theatrical" stage production,
Cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
, in 2019, Björk announced a new concert series called Björk Orkestral (originally spelled Björk Orchestral) in February 2020.
The original dates were scheduled for summer 2020 in France, England, Russia, Finland and Germany, and the tour was billed as acoustic, strings-only shows in celebration of Björk's "orchestral arrangements of works so far".
Shortly after these dates were announced, however, the
coronavirus pandemic put a crippling halt on live concerts and Björk had to postpone the show until summer 2022.
Measures the Icelandic government took to contain the virus proved to be one of the most effective throughout the world, and by mid-May 2020 the country had slowed the spread of the coronavirus to 2 new cases a week, effectively eradicating COVID-19 from its shores.
Recognizing the unique position Iceland was in but also the devastating global economic impact COVID-19 left in its wake, along with the world-wide
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
protests in response to the police murder of
George Floyd in the United States, Björk decided it was the right time to bring her orchestral concerts to live audiences in her home country. "There are many musicians out of work right now... Many of them live by playing concerts because they no longer earn revenue from record sales."
She credits her father's role in Iceland unions for her desire to fight for musician's wages.
The proceeds from the concerts went to Kvennaathvarfið, a women's shelter dedicated to refugees in Iceland, though Björk revealed that due to the isolation experienced during lock down, Icelandic women in general are in need of Kvennaathvarfið's services.
In addition to concert ticket sales, each matinee performances was followed by an evening of food and beverages with the proceeds also going to Kvennaathvarfið.
In addition to the funds raised in Iceland, the concerts were live streamed throughout the world to raise money for charity with donations being sent to non-profit organizations in each country the shows are streamed in.
![Bjork Orkestral Paris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bjork_Orkestral_Paris.png)
As for the concerts themselves, Björk has wanted to hold these acoustic-only shows since publishing her first collection of sheet music in 2017.
''
34 Scores for Piano, Organ, Harpsichord and Celeste'' features acoustic arrangements created in collaboration with her longtime accompanist
Jónas Sen which covers her entire discography. Björk Orkestral saw Björk reunite with over 100 Icelandic musicians,
Sen included, that have contributed to her studio albums and live concerts. Initially only 3 concerts were announced, but on 13 July 2020 a 4th show was added to the schedule.
Each concert featured a different set of musicians and instruments and a unique set list.
The 11 October show featured the strings section of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Viktor Orri Árnason, in addition to the harpist Katie Buckley. Árnason replaces Bjarni Frimann Bjarnason who was originally announced as conductor. The performance will draw the bulk of its material from Björk's albums,
''Post'' (1995) and ''
Vespertine
''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...
'' (2001) plus the 2000 soundtrack album ''
Selmasongs
''Selmasongs: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack 'Dancer in the Dark is the first soundtrack album by Icelandic musician Björk. It was released on September 18, 2000, by One Little Indian Records to promote and accompany the film ''Dancer i ...
''.
The 24 October show featured the 50-person
Hamrahlíð Choir conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir and musician Bergur Þórisson on organ and will feature songs primarily from Björk's albums, ''
Medúlla
''Medúlla'' is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Indian Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electro ...
'' (2004),
''Biophilia'' (2011) and
''Utopia'' (2017).
Both The Hamrahlíð Choir and Þórisson featured on the album ''Utopia'' and performed on the New York and EU dates of the
Cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
tour.
The October 31 show featured the brass section of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in addition to the flute septet Viibra. The members of Viibra played the flutes on Björk's 2017 album ''Utopia'' and officially formed as a group to tour with Björk throughout the
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
and Cornucopia tours. In addition to brass and flutes, the night will see American-born harpist Katie Buckley return in addition to pianist and long-time collaborator Jónas Sen.
Material will be drawn from the albums ''Vespertine'',
''Volta'' (2007) and ''Utopia''.
These concerts were held in collaboration with
Iceland Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves is a music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), n ...
,
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.
Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...
, Harpa, Promote Iceland, and
Icelandair.
Songs performed
During each concert in Iceland, Björk performed a different set of songs to fit the different musicians invited to perform with her.
For the touring shows, Björk performs with a 22 piece string orchestra, combining songs from the 4 original Reykjavík shows.
Tour dates
Cancelled shows
Reschedulations
The tour has been marred by repeated shows' rescheduling due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
The Icelandic dates have been forced to move a world record number of times, with the series at the
Harpa
''Harpa'', common name the "harp snails", is a genus of large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Harpidae.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P. (2015). Harpa Röding, 1798. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register ...
first scheduled to commence on 9 August 2020, then 29 August 2020, then 17 January 2021, then 18 April 2021, then 29 August 2021, and finally 11 October 2021, a total of six different leg's dates.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjork Orkestral
2021 concert tours
Björk concert tours
Concert tours postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 concert tours
2023 concert tours