Björk Collaborates With Hamrahlíð Choir on New Track “Cosmogony”

By: Staff –

The Hamrahlíð Choir will release “Cosmogony,” the first single from their upcoming album Come and be Joyful, on December 6th. Written by Björk and Sjón, “Cosmogony” is an entirely acapella work which was first performed by the Hamrahlíð Choir at the premiere performance of  Björk’s critically acclaimed Cornucopia show at The Shed, New York, last year.

“I am so incredibly grateful that the hamrahlíð choir and it’s original conductor þorgerður ingólfsdóttir came on tour with me,” said Björk. “I was myself in this choir when I was 16 and i think every single icelandic musician you have ever heard of was brought up and musically baptised by this miraculous woman. She is a legend in Iceland and has guarded optimism and the light in the tumultuous times that teenagedom is. She has also encouraged and commissioned dozens of choral works from all of iceland’s most prominent composers for half a century or so. I am absolutely beyond honoured.”

Björk herself was a member of the choir as a teenager, and as a result has been a long-time collaborator. As such a fan of the choir’s work and completely unique sound, Björk featured them on both the Utopia album and had all 52 choristers accompany her around the world to perform at every live show during the Cornucopia tour.

Come and be Joyful features Icelandic folk songs along with two collaborative Björk covers – “Cosmogony” & “Sonnets”, based on Björk’s own arrangements. The album is built out from the choir’s phenomenal support set at the Cornucopia live shows, with additional tracks added following the end of the tour.

Björk began her collaboration with The Hamrahlíð Choir in 2017, singing on her album Utopia, and this collaboration continued with concerts including those at The Shed, New York City, in May and June 2019.