Björk Orkestral was an "unplugged" concert series by
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic musician
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
A four-part concert series was later announced for August 2020 at the
Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík, 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 Reykjavík. 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
crippled the live music industry.
After the shows in Iceland, Björk embarked on a global tour of acoustic concerts, which saw her headline music festivals such as
Bluedot Festival and
Primavera Sound
Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...
.
Background and concept
After touring her "theatrical" stage production,
Cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...
, 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
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...
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 (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
protests in response to the police murder of
George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...
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.

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 drew the bulk of its material from Björk's albums,
''Post'' (1995) and ''
Vespertine'' (2001) plus the 2000 soundtrack album ''
Selmasongs''.
The 24 October show featured the 50-person
Hamrahlíð Choir conducted by
Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir and musician Bergur Þórisson on organ and featured songs primarily from Björk's albums, ''
Medúlla'' (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 (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...
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 imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
and Cornucopia tours. In addition to brass and flutes, the night saw American-born harpist Katie Buckley return in addition to pianist and long-time collaborator Jónas Sen.
Material was drawn from the albums ''Vespertine'',
''Volta'' (2007) and ''Utopia''.
These concerts were held in collaboration with
Iceland Airwaves,
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization.
Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...
, Harpa, Promote Iceland, and
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
.
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
Festival performances
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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
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