O Sapientia
For SATB-Choir and Alto Recorder
5”
Program note:
When asked to name an advent hymn, most people would probably say Veni Veni Emmanuel. But older still are the so-called “O-Antiphons”, of which this,“O Sapientia”, is the first. The exact origin of the antiphons is not known, but there is reference to them by Boethius (c. 480-524) in “The Consolation of Philosophy” showing that they are of great antiquity and established usage. By the eighth century, they were in use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome.
Antiphons are usually short lines to be sung before and after psalms or canticles, and the O Antiphons are no different, being traditionally appended to the Magnificat. For this reason, I conceived of this piece to serve a dual purpose as a companion piece to my Magnificat, but that by no means makes it less functional as an independent piece.
In this piece, the recorder is used both for sonic effects to interact with the choir, and to quote the original chant for “O Sapientia” (transposed through different modes), grounding the piece somewhat in “tradition”, while the choir sings the text with more “contemporary” harmonies, making strong use of the the lydian dominant scale as a unifying element between the instrumental groups.
Oskar Österling, 2024