Midnight Mass by Auður Guðjohnsen

On October 24th at 11:00 p.m., the Barbara Choir will perform a new Mass by composer Auður Guðjohnsen in Aðventkirkjan in Reykjavík, under the direction of conductor Guðmundur Óli Gunnarsson. The work will be performed a cappella.

The Mass is written with the goal of sparking greater interest in Icelandic choral music by reaching a wider audience through an accessible yet powerful musical language. At the same time, the piece seeks to breathe new life into one of the most treasured forms of sacred music and to bring renewed vitality to the liturgical texts.

Nordic choral music is enjoying growing international recognition, and Icelandic music is very much part of that movement. Icelandic composers continue to enrich the country’s choral tradition—especially in the field of sacred music—contributing to the strength, dignity, and cultural role of the Church.

This project has received generous support from the RÚV and STEF Composers’ Fund, the Church Music Fund and STEF, the FÍH Cultural Fund, the Friðrik Bjarnason and Guðlaug Pétursdóttir Fund, and Hafnarfjörður Church.

Founded in 2007 by organist Guðmundur Sigurðsson and a group of singers, the Barbara Choir is a professional chamber choir of 16 voices, known for its exceptional clarity of sound and artistry. The choir takes its name from Saint Barbara, after a statue of the saint was unearthed in 1950 during the excavation of an ancient chapel in Kapelluhraun, Hafnarfjörður.

In addition to regular performances at services in Hafnarfjörður Church, the choir appears in concerts and sings at funerals and special events both locally and beyond.