Heyr himna smiður
12th century Icelandic psalm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Heyr himna smiður" (literally "Hear, smith of the heavens") is a medieval Icelandic hymn written by chieftain and poet Kolbeinn Tumason in the 13th-century. The music that accompanies the text was composed by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1938–2013) in 1973.[1] This was the first known musical setting of the hymn to become widely popular, although the Icelandic composer Sigvaldi Kaldalóns set the text in the early 20th century; today, Sigurbjörnsson’s setting is among the best-known Icelandic hymns overall. [2] Sigurbjörnsson composed his setting at the request of Róbert Abraham Ottósson, a German emigré who was at the time the Music Director (söngmálastjóri) of the Icelandic Lutheran Church. Ottósson expressed his regret that no worthy musical setting existed of the text, and thus encouraged Sigurbjörnsson to try his hand at it. Sigurbjörnsson later described how the music had come to him all at once as he was driving back home from the meeting with Ottósson, on a snowy afternoon in Reykjavík in January 1973.[3]
| "Heyr himna smiður" | |
|---|---|
| Icelandic hymn by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson | |
| English | Hear, smith of the heavens |
| Genre | Hymn |
| Occasion | Funerals, general |
| Written | 13th-century |
| Text | Kolbeinn Tumason |
| Language | Icelandic |
| Meter | 5.5.5.5.5.5.5.5 |
| Composed | 20th-century |
Text and English translations
The original text is presented here with the medieval and 19th-century Icelandic versions. The third column features a rough, literal translation into English, while the fourth column is a looser translation regularized to a metrical pattern of 5.5.5.5.5.5.5.5 and stating all first-person pronouns in the singular. [4]
|
Heyr himna smiðr |
Heyr, himna smiður, |
Hear, smith of the heavens, |
Hear, smith of heavens.
|
Notable recordings
Recordings featuring Sigurbjörnsson’s 20th-century setting:
- 1988, The Hamrahlíð Choir, cond. Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Album: Kveðið í bjargi.[6]
- 2008, Hallgrimskirkja Motet Choir. cond. Hörður Áskelsson. Album: Ljósið þitt lýsi mér: Icelandic Church Music.[7]
- 2021, Voces8. Album: Infinity.[8]
- 2022, Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, cond. Graham Ross. Album: Ice Land: The Eternal Music.[9]
During the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, four horn players from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra performed an arrangement of Sigurbjörnsson’s setting in the lobby of Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík. The performance was posted on the orchestra’s YouTube channel.[10]
Notable singers
In popular culture
In September 2013, the hymn went viral thanks to an impromptu performance by Árstíðir, an Icelandic indie-folk group. As of 2025, the video, which is published on YouTube, has more than 8 million views.[11][12]
In 2017, two episodes of the American dystopian television series The Handmaid's Tale featured the hymn. The version used was arranged and performed by Hildur Guðnadóttir from her 2014 album "Saman".[13][14]