Tag Archives: Ola Gjeilo

Our Divine Spirit, all glory to Thee

06 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by in Expressions of the One

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Long before music was sung by a choir,
Long before silver was shaped in the fire,
Long before poets inspired the heart,
You were the Spirit of all that is art.

You give the potter the feel of the clay;
You give the actor the right part to play;
You give the author a story to tell;
You are the prayer in the sound of a bell.

Praise to all lovers who feel your desire!
Praise to all music which soars to inspire!
Praise to the wonders of Thy artistry
Our Divine Spirit, all glory to Thee.

– Charles Anthony Silvestri

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O guiding night!

O night more lovely than the dawn!

O night that has united

the Lover with his beloved,

transforming the beloved in her Lover.

– St. John of the Cross

Set to a text by Charles Anthony Silvestri as well as a stanza from St. John of the Cross’ poem used in the predecessor to this piece, Luminous Night of the Soul is the sequel to Dark Night of the Soul. Both works are independent pieces that can be performed separately, but they are also conceived as two movements of the same work.

dark and luminous

💜🙏

One dark night

05 Sunday Jan 2020

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One dark night,

fired with love’s urgent longings

—ah, the sheer grace!—

I went out unseen,

my house being now all stilled.

In darkness, and secure,

by the secret ladder, disguised,

—ah, the sheer grace!—

in darkness and concealment,

my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night, in secret,

for no one saw me,

nor did I look at anything,

with no other light or guide

than the one that burned in my heart.

– St. John of the Cross

“Dark Night of the Soul was written in 2010, and premiered that year by the Phoenix Chorale. The text, three stanzas from St. John of the Cross’ magical poem Dark Night of the Soul, was suggested to me by Joel Rinsema, Executive Director of the Phoenix Chorale, and I fell in love with its passionate spirituality right away. One of the things I wanted to do in this piece was to make the choir and piano fairly equal, as if in a dialogue; often the piano is accompanying the choir, but sometimes the choir is accompanying the piano (or violin) as well, with the choir kind of taking the role of a soft, but rich “string orchestra” texture. I just love the sound of voices humming chords, it creates a sound that can be so evocative and warm, especially when doubled by a string quartet. To me, that sound combination has a similar effect to a great synth pad, only it perhaps feels more organic and alive.” – Ola Gjeilo

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