Bedroom Community

Debut works seldom deserve instant acclaim, but this full-length by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason does just that.

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé, one that boasts the London Sinfonietta and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  But even listeners who don’t gravitate toward classical may find themselves enraptured with the first movement of “Bow to String,” the album’s first piece.

In the first section, “Sorrow Conquers Happiness,” powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.

The second movement is utterly somber, at times sounding like feedback, and the strings cause dissonance in a delicate fashion.  The first movement of the title concerto, “Processions,” presents a thunderous piano that trades leads with its orchestral brothers, dancing between irreverent beauty and sudden backlashes of force.

It’s a daring and original work. Undoubtedly, Processions will make year-end lists in classical circles.