159 
nto a state of disorder, and church-music and singing generally were 
jradually reduced to a most unedifying condition. The melodies were- 
most frequently in the plain-song, but the duet- or quint-song was 
often used both in church, at family worship, and on other occasions, 
though it has now been almost completely ousted bv the harmonic 
song of the major-minor mode. 
[celandic folk melodies are constructed in one or the other of the. 
old church-modes, but the one most frequently met with in these po- 
pular. pieces is the Lydian mode, as it is best suited to the quint-song. 
{On Icelandic folk melodies see: Bj. Thorsteinsson: fslenzk Thiéblég, 
published in Copenhagen 1906—1909). 
Progress towards modern music, vocal as well as instrumental, did 
not begin till the nineteenth century. This was partly owing to the 
isolation of the country, but doubtless more to the lack of suitable 
instruments on which to play the foreign melodies that found their 
way to the country. Of native musical instruments only two are known. 
They were very primitive, a kind of oblong boxes, one a form of the 
fiddle, having 2—4 strings, the other was the so-called /angspil, with 
three strings. Both these instruments were placed on a table and 
played with a bow. The melody was played on one string, and the 
others were scraped with the bow to produce harmonic sounds. 
In the nineteenth century the old melodies to which the church 
hymns had been sung for centuries, were gradually replaced by mo- 
dern ones, mostly of foreign origin. Pioneers in this field were Péfur 
Gudjohnsen (1812—1877) and Jonas Helgason (1839—1903), organists 
in the cathedral in Reykjavik, who did much to create interest in church 
and secular music, both vocal and instrumental. In the late ‘fifties 
three-part and four-part singing began to be practised, and about 1860 
‘he first chorus was formed. Now choral unions are to be found all 
aver the country, and every church has its harmonium. 
Though musical life in Iceland developed very late, great progress 
nas been made during the last fifty years or so. Musical instruments, 
as the harmonium, the pianoforte, the guitar, the violin, are now in 
common use. Windbands have been formed in all the larger towns 
and a symphony-orchestra in Reykjavik. Of late years, too, Icelandic 
composers (mostly of vocal music) have appeared, as Sveinbjérn Svein- 
bjérnsson (1847-1927) who resided for a number of years in Edin- 
burgh, Scotland, where most of his works were published; Sigfiis 
Einarsson (b. 1877) the present organist in the cathedral in Reykja- 
vik has, besides original compositions, published various Icelandic folk.