Den himmelska staden (The Heavenly City) (1992)

Sven-Olof Ohlsson (b. 1932) — Den himmelska staden (The Heavenly City) (1992) for organ

“Den himmelska staden” (The Heavenly City) (1992) is subtitled “organ vision.” It is a tone poem inspired by an image of the grandeur of the heavenly city as reflected in a 1963 Swedish hymn by Steffan Larsson: “Jerusalem är staden högt ovan rum och tid / med sällhet över alla mätt och översinnlig frid.” (“Jerusalem is the city high above space and time, the bliss of all measured and transcendental peace.”) Larsson’s text is based on the famous “O quanta qualia” text of Peter Abelard. In the middle section of this organ piece, the melody (by English composer W. H. Ferguson) that is associated with this text in the Swedish hymnal is quoted.

Sven-Olof Ohlsson (b. 1932) was born in Jönköping, Sweden and studied organ with Alf Linder, Anton Heiler, Marie-Claire Alain, and Cor Kee. He served for many years as organist of St. Johannes Church, Norrköping. He was one of the principal organizers of the Norrköping Organ Festival in the 1980s and 90s.

Published by Noteria (http://www.noteria.se)