Dopo la vittoria

Dopo la vittoria – piccola cantata or “the little cantata” – was composed for mixed choir a capella in 1996 and revised in 1998. The piece was commissioned by Sandro Boccardi on behalf of the City of Milan to celebrate 1,600 years since the death of St. Ambrose, Archbishop and patron saint of Milan in 1997.

The text for Dopo la vittoria is a description of the scene that inspired the creation of Te Deum: St. Augustine’s baptism by St. Ambrose, while jointly singing an ode to God. The text originates from the encyclopaedia The History of Church Singers and Songs (Исторический обзор песнопевцев и песнопения греческой церкви) compiled by Archbishop Filaret and published in 1902 in St. Petersburg. Keeping in mind the commission…

Dopo la vittoria – piccola cantata or “the little cantata” – was composed for mixed choir a capella in 1996 and revised in 1998. The piece was commissioned by Sandro Boccardi on behalf of the City of Milan to celebrate 1,600 years since the death of St. Ambrose, Archbishop and patron saint of Milan in 1997.

The text for Dopo la vittoria is a description of the scene that inspired the creation of Te Deum: St. Augustine’s baptism by St. Ambrose, while jointly singing an ode to God. The text originates from the encyclopaedia The History of Church Singers and Songs (Исторический обзор песнопевцев и песнопения греческой церкви) compiled by Archbishop Filaret and published in 1902 in St. Petersburg. Keeping in mind the commissioner, the original text in Russian has been translated into Italian.

Arvo Pärt: “The description charmed me and I quickly made my decision – I wanted to create music for this text specifically, based on how it was written in the encyclopaedia. I used the text without changing anything in it. The wording and phrasing from 1902 sounded like a poem in prose to me.”

What made the scene exceptional to the composer was that as the baptism of Augustine progresses, Ambrose starts singing his Te Deum and Augustine spontaneously joins him, continuing the song as if he had known it for a long time. They sing Te Deum to the end as an antiphon. The composer recalls: “I was enraptured by the scene with two great figures of Western culture and Christianity, full of spontaneous joy and inspiration, I was deeply under its influence.”

The cantata is characterised by its narrative nature. The first rows (“St. Ambrose created this ceremonial hymn after the complete victory over the Arians …”) are performed by the choir in a recitative staccato, so as to pass on the emotional events. The original phrase from the Te Deum in Latin is embedded in the musical narrative: Te Deum laudamus – “We praise you, Lord”.

With its drama, contrasting characters, dynamics and changes in tempo, the composition differs from many of Pärt’s thoroughly contemplative works in tintinnabuli style.

Dopo la vittoria has three dedications – to Sandro Boccardi, the poet and Director of the Music Department at the Cultural Center of Milan, the conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and the Swedish Radio Choir. It was premiered by the Swedish Radio Choir, conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste at the concert of Arvo Pärt’s works, Sette pezzi sacri (Seven Holy Works) in the Basilica of San Simpliciano in Milan on 6 December 1997.