Otto Emanuel Olsson (19 December 1879 – 1 September 1964) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Life and career

Olsson, a native of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, was one of the most renowned organ

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

s of his time. He studied organ with August Lagergren (1848−1908) and composition with Joseph Dente (1838−1905), both teachers having been employed at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

. Later Olsson himself joined the faculty there, becoming teacher of

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

(1908–24) and then organ (1924–45). Meanwhile he was also the organist at the

Gustaf Vasa Church Gustaf Vasa Church ( sv, Gustaf Vasa kyrka) is a church located in the Vasastaden district of Stockholm, Sweden. Inaugurated in 1906 and named after 16th century King Gustav Vasa, it was designed by architect Agi Lindegren in the Baroque Revival ...

. He became a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music in 1915. Olsson used his strong background in

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, combined with an affinity for French organ music, to develop his late Romantic style of

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

. He also had an interest in

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

and, though not a Catholic but a Lutheran, used the

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. ...

techniques of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

in his ''Gregorianska melodier''. At times he explored

polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key ...

in his output, an advancement not found in other Swedish compositions of the time. In addition to many fine pieces for the organ, he produced various

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

works, the most often performed of which is his setting of the

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

, which requires not only chorus but string

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, and organ. As a teacher, Olsson influenced many Swedish musicians (especially church musicians), and he was important in the development of

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

in Sweden, which had suffered a long period of decline before 1900. His activities included serving as a member of official committees that supervised the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

. He also composed Psalm settings for congregational use and wrote two instructional books, on the art of

choral singing A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and psalm singing respectively. He died in Stockholm in 1964, aged 84.

Works

Choral

*Advents och julsånger, for mixed choir and organ (1917) **Advent **Julsång **Gammal julvisa **Davids 121 psalm **Nyårspsalm **Guds Son är fødd (bearbetning af folkvisa) **Det brinner en stjärna i Österland **Jungfru Marias lovsång *Gregorianska melodier (Six Gregorian Melodies), Op. 30 (1910) *Sex latinska hymner (Six Latin Hymns), for a cappella choir, Op. 40 (1919) **Psalmus CXX **Canticum Simeonis **Psalmus CX **Jesu dulcis memoria **Ave Maris Stella **Rex gloriose martyrum *Three Latin Choruses **Jesu corona celsior (for

Uppsala Domkyrkas Gosskör Uppsala Domkyrkas Gosskör (the Boys' Choir of Uppsala Cathedral) is the oldest boys' choir in Sweden, formed in 1920.Credo Symphoniacum (1918) *Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale "Vi lofva dig, o store Gud", Op. 29 ("for white keys", or phrygian mode) *12 orgelstycken över koralmotiv, Op. 36 *Organ Sonata in E major, Op. 38 *Preludium and fugue in C-sharp minor, Op. 39 (1910) *Variations on "Ave maris stella", Op. 42 *5 Trios, Op. 44 (?1911) *Credo symphoniacum, Op. 50 (1925) *Preludium and fugue in F-sharp minor, Op. 52 (1918) *Preludium and fugue in D-sharp minor, Op. 56 (1935)

Orchestra

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

in G minor, Op. 11 (1901-1902) *

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

in G minor, Op. 13 (1903, first performance Stockholm, Nov. 1976) *

, Op. 25 (1906)

Chamber music

*String Quartet, Op. 10 *String Quartet No. 2 (1906) *String Quartet No. 3 (1947)(Astrand, Grove Music Online)

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

*
Torvald Torén plays organ works by Otto Olsson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Otto 1879 births 1964 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians Composers for pipe organ Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Royal College of Music, Stockholm alumni Academic staff of the Royal College of Music, Stockholm Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers