Ubi caritas

Information

No. 3 from Three Latin motets. A six parts a cappella setting of the old Ubi caritas text from the 7th century.

”The Three latin motets were composed for the communion service at Oscarskyrkan in Stockholm. They have also been performed at concerts and at various choral competitions throughout Europe.
The pieces make up a small suite, where the hymns by Thomas Aquinas frame the ancient Ubi caritas as a centerpiece. Beginning with the epic multi-verse setting of Tantum ergo and ending with the dance-like ritornello structure of O sacrum convivium, the suite makes up a nice ternary form with the warm stillness of Ubi caritas in the middle.
While composing, I aimed to evoke the antiquity of the texts by assigning them to mock-plainchant melodies and then treating them in a cantus firmus setting. All three pieces are written in a neo-romantic style.

The Ubi caritas is an ancient hymn associated with Maundy Thursday and the service of the washing of the feet. It is believed to have its roots in the earliest Christian church, before the mass was formalized. The service of Maundy Thursday revolves around the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus Christ.” – Pär Olofsson, musician in Oscarskyrkan, Stockholm.

Listen on YouTube or on Spotify to Hjorthagens Kammarkör conducted by Karin Oldgren.

See also Tantum ergo, O sacrum convivium and Sicut cervus by Pär Olofsson.