Category: Iceland

Sound Sculpture Tvísöngur

Looking like a cluster of igloos, this sound sculpture is ideal for traditional Icelandic singing.

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“It is great fun visiting this work of art, trying to sing in all the domes teaches one a lot about acoustics. This area is quiet and tranquil and one doesn’t have to feel embarrassed about raising one’s voice to sing out loud”

Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir

Constructed from smooth thick concrete, each of these reverberant chambers has been tuned to a different frequency corresponding to a tone in traditional Icelandic five-part harmony. It’s by German artist Lukas Kühne and is called Tvísöngur or The Duet. You can hear the resonances either by singing, or through the wind whistling through the openings.

Here is a short snippet of singing without (anechoic) and then with the sculpture.

Anechoic singing
Singing in Tvísöngur

Impulse responses are available for the sculpture if you want to use them in a convolution reverb.

Location

Tvisongur is located on a mountainside above the town of Seydisfjordur. It is a 15-20 minute hike on a gravel road that starts across from Brimberg Fish Factory. Open all the time to visit.

Credits

Photo: Navin Rajagopalan

Sound samples: Oliver McIntyre

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon

Experience amazing quiet punctuated by creaking icebergs and tinkling ice on the shoreline.

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I visited this amazingly serene place many years ago when I camped alongside the lake. Lying awake in bed, there was almost silence apart from the sound of the wind and the occasional creaking and groaning of the icebergs and glacier. Ice broken off from the Breidamerkurjokull glacier forms large, strange sculptural shapes which float on the pristine, clear glacial water.

Location

Close to highway number one about 350 km east from Reykjavík. Watch out for the aggressive skuas. Depending on the time of year, there can be lots of bird noise. There is a popular boat trip around the lake, so this is best heard when the other tourists have gone home.

Sources and credits

  1. Photo Tania Ho (c) some rights reserved