Otto Olsson - In vernali tempore (Choral) In Springtime (2/8)

Otto Olsson (19 December 1879 -- 1 September 1964) was a Swedish composer, organist and choir director.

In vernali tempore (In springtime)
from Piae Cantiones

The Swedish Radio Choir conducted by Gustaf Sjökvist

In vernali tempore

When the cold of winter is banished,
the swallow brings glad tidings of the spring.
The beauty of the earth, the sea, the forest and
all Nature is come and the world is made anew.
The life force of the body returns,
the torment of the soul vanishes at this blissful time.
The ground is dressed in flowers and the field is green.
The birds delight with song and caressing notes.
The sea is free from tempests, the air rainless and full of fragrance.
The sun dispels the clouds and shines with its clear, gentle rays.
Of, what rare brilliance, what glory with God, what refulgance of His countenance!
From Him all things - great and small - have their beauteous origin, yet the difference between Him and His creation exceeds that between night and day.

Otto Olsson was one of the greatest organ virtuosos of his time. He studied organ with Lagergren and composition with Dente at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and then joined the faculty there, where he taught harmony (1908-24) and then organ (1924-45).[1] He was also the organist at the Gustav Vasa church in Stockholm. He became a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music in 1915.

He used his strong background in counterpoint, combined with an affinity for French organ music, to create his late Romantic style of composition. He also had an interest in earlier music and used the plainchant techniques of Gregorian chant in his Gregorianska melodier. He explored polytonality in his work, an advancement not found in other Swedish works of the time. In addition to many fine works for the organ, instrumental and choral works, his best-known work is his setting of the Te Deum, a large piece for chorus, string orchestra, harp, and organ.

As a teacher, he influenced many Swedish church musicians, and he was important in the development of church music in Sweden, which had suffered a long period of decline, having served as a member of official committees that supervised the liturgy and hymnology. He also composed Psalm settings for congregational use and wrote two instructional books, on the art of choral singing and psalm singing.

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