Born in Stockholm, Otto Olsson (1879–1964) was not only one of the great organ virtuosos of his day but also an important figure in the musical life of Sweden. Introduction and Allegro, is the first movement, of his
Credo symphoniacum, Op 50, an organ symphony written for the ecumenical meeting at Uppsala in 1925. All three of its movements are based on plainsong melodies, the first employing an example traditionally associated with the words ‘Credo in unum Deum’. Boldly announced in the movement’s opening bars and given to an inner voice in the sepulchral Molto adagio, the melody finds an exhilarating context in the Allegro. There are two points of repose, at which the melody is given a simple harmonization; after the second of these the movement proceeds to a magnificent conclusion—marked, quite pleonastically, Largamente.
from notes by Relf Clark © 2009
