Found on Tumblr
Icelandic descendants of Vikings singing a hymn in a German train station. They totally need to be on the next Thor soundtrack.
brokenponycutiemark Deactivated
Oh man oh man oh man. 6 guys, and it FILLS THE SPACE. Luck of the architecture – and they know how to pull it off. Nothing is easy making vocal music in a space not built for it. I want to do this kind of thing – randomly perform multipart harmony in public spaces.
And it reminds me of Bjork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiN_YTyaNtI
twintrolldevon Deactivated
My god this is beautiful.
bloodandthunderp Deactivated
Oh my god, the bass voice is superb.
sorceressofwildwood Deactivated
This makes me feel so many things. Gods, it’s gorgeous and so evocative and wow. I need to find out what hymn this is.
euclase Deactivated
It’s Hear, Heavenly Creator (I don’t know how that’s spelled in Icelandic, and I don’t have the characters on my keyboard for the letters anyway haha).
It’s… old as balls. Like 11th century old.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this video and it never fails to give me chills. There’s just something about knowing how old it is, that they’re singing the same words and notes their ancestors did, unchanged over almost a thousand years, that makes my heart and soul ache in the best way.
Also the harmonization is gorgeous, I’m so weak for men’s chorale.
Translated lyrics for the curious (transcribed from this video, I do not speak Icelandic so I can’t judge the accuracy):
Listen, smith of the heavens,
[to] what the poet asks.
May softly come unto me
Your mercy.
So I call on Thee,
for You have created me.
I am Thy slave,
you are my Lord.
God, I call on Thee
to heal me.
Remember me, mild one,
most we need Thee.
Drive out, oh King of Suns,
generous and great,
every human sorrow
from the city of the heart.
Watch over me, mild one,
most we need Thee,
truly every moment
in the world of men.
Send us, Son of the Virgin,
good causes;
all aid is from Thee
in my heart.
I suspect this is a more literal translation, but there’s something incredibly poetic and lovely about “smith of the heavens” as a synonym for “heavenly creator”.
