The Organ of Fríkirkjan in Reykjavík 100 years | Eyþór Ingi Jónsson

The Organ of Fríkirkjan in Reykjavík 100 years

Fríkirkjan in Reykjavík celebrates this milestone with a special concert series:

* 27 September at 2 PM – Eyþór Ingi Jónsson

* 25 October at 4 PM – Lára Bryndís Eggertsdóttir

* 22 November at 4 PM – Björn Steinar Sólbergsson

* 29 November at 4 PM – Áki Ásgeirsson

* 20 December at 4 PM – Sigurður Flosason and Gunnar Gunnarsson

In early May 1926, 42 crates arrived in Iceland aboard the ship Lagarfoss from Germany. The shipment weighed 11 tonnes and contained a new organ for Fríkirkjan in Reykjavík. An organ builder from the Sauer factory in Frankfurt an der Oder accompanied the shipment and installed the instrument together with Ísólfur Pálsson, an instrument maker and inventor, his son Páll Ísólfsson, the renowned composer and organist, and Pálmar, Ísólfur’s other son.

The organ cost 41,500 ISK, equivalent to the price of two detached houses at the time, and was by far the largest musical instrument in Iceland. This was fitting, as Fríkirkjan was the country’s largest public assembly hall at the time.

Páll Ísólfsson began working at Fríkirkjan that same autumn. The organ had been purchased, as stated in a letter signed by several Reykjavík residents who, together with the congregation’s board, raised funds for its purchase, so that “a suitable organ for Mr. Páll to use would be available in the church.”

In 1939, Páll became organist at Reykjavík Cathedral. His position at Fríkirkjan was then taken over by his brother and student, Sigurður Ísólfsson. Sigurður was a trained watchmaker and was exceptionally meticulous in maintaining the instrument.

The organ is the oldest pipe organ in Iceland still in use. It carries with it a fascinating history of Icelandic musical life, organ building, and church history stretching back to 1926.