"A very exciting release from a composer new to me, Thrainn Hjalmarsson, from Iceland."
" 'Grisaille' finds the Icelandic Flute Ensemble (a dozen of them) navigating through a slowly swirling, misty world, the flutes creating gorgeous, otherworldly harmonies, breathed in and out in (very) rough unison, gradually splitting into higher and lower sections, gently seesawing. True to its title (a painting in gray tones), it remains in a single area and explores it wonderfully, a compelling work."
"my personal favorite, 'Lucid/Opaque', played by Nordic Affect, a violin/viola/cello trio. In and out breath is once more the structure, a three pulse phrase, very simple (but massive complex within the chords), low-high-low, iterated over and over with small shifts in individual duration, tone and attack throughout and occasionally punctuated by brief puffs. A sleeping dragon? Hjalmarsson again stays within a narrow territory but augments it and works it to a marvelous degree, every addition or new angle perfectly apt. It's an immensely moving piece.
"I'm very happy to have heard this, recommend it highly and can't wait to hear more"
- Brian Olewnick on the album Influence of buildings on musical tone.
"There’s a particular kind of pleasure to be found in music created by composers who clearly need to share their own fascination with sound, not just as raw material to organise but as a ceaselessly intriguing sensory phenomenon. The work of Þráinn Hjálmarsson falls
into that category. The five pieces on his debut release are finely crafted and formally coherent. At the same time each seems to distill personal observations, to crystallise Hjálmarsson’s habitually acute and enthusiastic listening."
"...implies an obsessive nature, but it also encapsulates the rare level of attentiveness which Hjálmarsson brings to his encounters with sound and his readiness to share each revelation."
- Julian Cowley on the album Influence of buildings on musical tone at The Wire
"The group's chamber credentials are highlighted in the trio sonatas by Corelli and Stradella, and - in a very different vein - Þráinn Hjálmarsson's string quartet Recitar cantando/Speaking in Song (2021), a study in ethereal textures, inspired by Giulio Caccini's comment 'music is nothing other than speech, then rhythm, and lastly sound'."
- Guy Rickards, Gramophone on the work Recitar cantando / Singing in Song.
"These compositions are a sonic experience that is hard to put into words and oddly addicting.
[...]
His music is haunting, contemplative, and on the boundaries of what is possible with acoustic instruments, which makes it really fun to listen to. The path Þráinn is forging is uniquely his own, and it is exciting to guess where it might take him."
- Jarrett Goodchild on the album Influence of buildings on musical tone at I care if you listen (.com)
