Umbra

Mystical folk and ballads from the land of fairies and volcanoes ( Iceland)

The Icelandic ensemble Umbra was founded in 2014 by four musicians who share a passion for old and new music: From the very beginning, their vision was to create their own musical world with a distinctive sound and the combination of old, traditional and new music. The ensemble's repertoire includes spiritual and secular medieval melodies from Iceland as well as traditional songs performed to the ensemble's original arrangements. They have also performed Icelandic contemporary music by some of the country's most prominent composers.

Umbra (= island) has been hailed by critics as "one of the most interesting ensembles" in Iceland, praised above all for its musical ambition and "outstanding arrangements" of early and traditional music.
The ensemble has created its own musical sound world with clear and unique tones and melodies. They are inspired by various sources: historical tape recordings of Iðunn from the archives of the Icelandic Rímur Society and the Icelandic National Museum, as well as recordings from the Árni Magnússon Institute; private collections; the folk song collection of Reverend Bjarni Þorsteinsson and Vésteinn Ólason's book on folk ballads.
Umbra has performed at numerous concerts and festivals throughout Iceland and Europe.
Her album "Solstitium" was honoured as CD of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards 2018. "Llibre vermell" (2019) was also nominated for the IMA.

www.umbra-ensemble.com