SINE SOLE NIHIL SUM
for mixed choir (SATB div.) a cappella

Text: from Sundials
Music by: Tadeja Vulc (1978)
Composed: 2019

Dedicated to Ambrož Čopi and Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir



LIVE RECORDING:
Oktober 1, 2020, cerkev sv. Frančiška Asiškega v Šiški, Ljubljana
KGBL Chamber Choir
Ambrož Čopi, conductor


Sine sole nihil sum is one of the compositions from the Sundial cycle. In this cycle are compositions for various choral ensembles (from children’s, youth, women’s, men’s and mixed a capella choirs to choirs accompanied by various instruments) to lyrics of short truths, thoughts found on sundials around the world. These inscriptions are interesting and often have a strong philosophical value, so they caught my attention and I have set them to music and there will be more collections.

A sundial is a device that tells the time of day when there is sunlight by the apparent position of the sun in the sky. We can find lot of sundials all around the world. They are in museums, churches… By tradition, many sundials have a motto. The motto is usually in the form of an epigram: sometimes somber reflections on the passing of time and the brevity of life…

In the song Sine sole nihil sum I used 5 different inscriptions from sundials from Italy, England and France, written in Latin or English. The main motto of the song is: Sine sole nihil sum, which means Without the Sun, I am nothing, but we find it on a sundial in Ornavasso, Italy. A very important part of the text is the inscription A ring is round and hath no end So is my love unto my friend, who was listed from a watch at the British Museum.


MOTTO 1
Suns rise and set,
Till men forget
The Day is at the door
When they shall rise no more.

O everlasting Sun,
Whose race is never run,
Be thou my endless light,
Then shall I fear no night.
moto from England (Trefnant):

MOTTO 2
Sine sole nihil sum (Without the Sun, I am nothing).

MOTTO 3
Sum si sol sit (If the Sun is, I am).
At Viriville v Franciji.

MOTTO 4
Make time, save time,
While time lasts.
All time is no time
When time is past.

MOTTO 5
A ring is round and hath no end
So is my love unto my friend.
This posy is on a ring dial in the British Museum, probably the same one that was exhibited by the Society of Antiquaries, 1884, and described in their Proceedings, vol. xi., No. 1.


Tadeja Vulc (1978) started her musical career in Radlje ob Dravi and continued in the High School for Music and Ballet in Maribor. She perfected her knowledge by studying at the Academy for Music in Ljubljana and refined her skills at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
During her studies, she already gained numerous awards for composition (4th prize at the competition Rostrum in the Netherlands, the France Prešeren Student Prize for the composition Tri iveri /Three Slivers/). She was also actively involved in leading different music ensembles with which she performed projects at home and abroad. We can see her on stages in Slovenia and abroad as the author of music or as the conductress of different ensembles.
Her work is a constant intertwinement of conducting and composing. At the moment, she is the artistic director of male vocal quartet Štirje študenti and the conductress of the Academic Choir Maribor (APZ Maribor). She is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Education of University of Maribor.

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