Cantores Islandiae | Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

The vocal ensemble Cantores Islandiae was founded in Reykjavík in 2018 by Ágúst Ingi Ágústsson and Gísli Jóhann Grétarsson. The group places particular emphasis on Gregorian chant in its choice of projects, while not limiting itself exclusively to that repertoire.

Among the projects undertaken by the ensemble in recent years is a performance of the Messe de Nostre Dame by the medieval composer Guillaume de Machaut during the winter of 2023–2024. This marked the first time Machaut’s Mass of Our Lady was performed in its entirety in Iceland.

In recent years, Cantores Islandiae have increasingly focused on sound recordings related to Iceland’s medieval musical heritage. In 2024, the ensemble recorded chants from the Gufudals Gradual (c. 1450) in collaboration with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. This recording forms part of a new manuscript exhibition at Edda – The House of Icelandic Studies, which opened in Reykjavík in November of the same year. In January 2025, the group recorded the second Vespers from the Þorláks tíð at Skálholt Cathedral, and work is currently underway on the release of that recording. In January 2026, the ensemble plans to record the first Vespers of the Þorláks tíð.