Gregorian church music honouring St. Olav

Every year throughout the Middle Ages the St. Olav Mass was sung on St. Olav’s Day in Scandinavia. From dusty parchments, Schola Sanctae Sunnivae has now brought this medieval music back to life through the CD Rex Olavus.

Historic event

St. Olav’s Day (29^th July) was an important celebration in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages. On this day the St. Olav Mass was sung everywhere, from the great cathedral of Nidaros to the smallest village church. This was without doubt the most widely known music before Grieg, and the sequence Lux illuxit has in modern times represented the flag ship of Norwegian medieval music. And this is a truly magnificent piece of music. Finally we may now listen to it in its original context. Most of this material has never been released on CD before.

The source

When Schola Sanctae Sunnivae’s conductor Anne Kleivset decided that she wanted to play the St. Olav Mass, she gave herself and producer Giedrius J. Gapsys a great challenge. None of the 50 registered sources for the music are in any way complete, or reliable enough to use as a source on their own. All manuscripts showed in essence the same songs. But they were written down over a period of 400 years (1200 – 1600) and came from all over Scandinavia, so there were numerous variations and differences.

Schola Sanctae Sunnivae chose to put together the Mass in accordance with the oldest dialect in the ornamental language, based on the origins from Nidaros.

New composition

There is a lot more to Rex Olavus than medieval Gregorian music recitation. The well known organist and composer Henning Sommerro has written the music to “Suite Sanctus Olavus”, a suite in four movements for string orchestra. It takes musical courage to bring Gregorian music into our own time in this way.

“We felt that this project went beyond recreation”, says producer Gapsys. “We wanted to draw the lines between the past and the present. Henning’s music emphasises the major moments in the history of St. Olav, which the Gregorian songs describe. The reputed Trondheim Soloists perform Sommerro’s orchestra suite, for the occasion conducted by Torodd Wigum.

French tradition

The choir Schola Sanctae Sunnivae consists solely of women, and is named after the female Norwegian saint St. Sunniva. The choir works according to a French tradition that originates in Solesmes in France. They master this demanding musical language with total fluency and have received much praise for their work, both nationally and internationally. Previously the choir has recorded “Fingergullofficiet”, also on Kirkelig Kulturverksted’s label.

Track list:

1. Sekvens: postquam calix                                                                       2:50

2. Orkester I. Martyr                                                                                   2:50

3. Antifon I: Sancte martyr Domini Olave                                                2:55

4. Responsorium I: in regali fastigio                                                         2:40

5. Antifon til I. nocturn: Regnante illustrissimo                                       3:05

6. Responsorium IV: Itaque devotissime                                                  2:10

7. Responsorium V: Confluebant ad baptisma                                         2:00

8. Orkester II. Baptisma                                                                             2:10

9. Responsorium VII: Devenerat martyr                                                   2:15

10. Antifon til Magnificat: Hodie pretiosus martyr Olavus                      4:05

11. Responsorium VIII: Egregius martyr Olavus                                       3:20

12. Orkester III. Veni Care                                                                          3:15

13. Antifon til Magnificat: Adest dies laetitiae                                         2:40

14. Sekvens: Lux illuxit                                                                              4:15

15. Orkester IV. Lux                                                                                   3:50

16. Hymne: Rex Olavus                                                                             2:00