the daughter and son of David. Two familiar symbolfigurer as jubilant besjungs at advent. The question is whether it makes any difference if you cry out Hosanna or Hallelujah.
Strong, it should in each case cooperate on the first Sunday of advent. Mountains shall sink, deep to stand up. Zion’s daughter shall lift up his forehead and the high leave their hosanna. Time to the roaring organ, most of which mäktigast out of Otto Olsson’s organ pipes.
Olsson is the great organist in the Swedish music history. In half a century nötte his broad rear on the orgelpallen in the Gustav Vasa church at Odenplan. Above him hung four tons of church bells, with the inscription ”Out of my skälfvande kopparbarm/challenging voices sound:/the stillness for you to invite/sabbatsstillhet in the bustle of the city”.
newly built when the young Otto had its first organisttjänst 1907. Here, he would orgla up until 1956. An institution and an inventory, which from time to time could be seen retrieving a beer or two from the organ. Himself he called himself ”archbishop in miniature”, since the fullskalige and finished the archbishop Söderblom stepped up to him in the stands and proposed psalmbokssamarbete.
the Year was 1916, and Otto Olsson would write his biggest hit, ”Advent”. Its beautiful rekviem, composed in 1903 by a 24-year-old, he was never to hear. I was in the choir which was premiered in his church, several years after his death. ”Advent”, however, is an equally reliable annual drawcard as ”Prepare ye the way”.
the gentle beats of the organ, releasing the choir in the daughter of the forte and a heavy sarabandrytm. But you must not take in too strongly, for here, the jublas in the ongoing crescendo to fröjdandet over to ”it’s advent”. With your arms full of palm trees, the calls of the choir in the beautiful åttastämmiga chords until the king of glory and salighetens day.
Behind the words was västgötaprästen Paul Nilsson, diligent and dedicated psalmskald, praised by Selma Lagerlöf. Most famous, however, he is of Birgitta Andersson’s interpretation of his diktrad ”I’m so happy that I’m Swedish”.
Read more articles by Camilla Lundberg here.
