Á Sprengisandi - SSSAAATTBBB A Cappella

This Icelandic folk song describes a riding journey. Sprengisandur is a highland plateau in Iceland and an ancient pass - during the time of the Icelandic Free State (ca. 930–1265) it was one of the several important north–south routes that connected remote regions of the island to the Plains of the Parliament, Þingvellir, where the yearly parliament, Alþingi, was held each year at midsummer. It was believed to be haunted by all kinds of ghosts and spirits. For hundreds of kilometers, there was no fodder for horses to be had, and no human habitation to take shelter in. One needed to ride as fast as possible, nearly driving the horses to death, to cross the mountain desert and reach the inhabited regions of the island again before running out of supplies. Braden Pontoli’s arrangement focuses on the haunting mystery of the horse and the horsemen. You can hear the trembling yet drive through the singers' ostinatos “Ride On.” 

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