Sententia for Viola Op. 319

This is my "Sententia for Viola Op. 319". It is my first solitary sententia. It is the 2nd opus of sententia(e) I have composed for viola, the first being my Op. 169, a set of five senteniae, composed in September 2013. Of course, a viola player may choose to play all 6 together. But I could not but publish this solitary sententia with a separate opus number since it is so far removed in time from that initial set of 5 sententiae. I might later repost that set as part of my posts of old/previously posted but deleted pieces.

Here is my updated description of the "sententia/e" as included on the title page of the score of the piece,:

The 'sententia' is a musical form I originated in 2013. The word 'sententia' (plural: 'sententiae') is the Latin for the word 'sentence'. The Oxford dictionary defines 'sententia' as "A pithy or memorable saying, a maxim, an aphorism, an epigram; a thought, a reflection." For me a 'sententia' is a musical utterance of a thought that is complete in itself, like a sentence. It is also an utterance that finds no need for any elaboration or development. Hence my sententiae are short pieces that usually come in sets – the current sententia being an exception. In sets of sententiae, the individual sententiae are often related to each other in some way. For sets of sententiae also, it is expected that performers observe a short pause between one sententia and the next and that the audience refrain from clapping during those pauses.

I'd be tempted to respell the A sharps as B flats, especially when they're in the same measure as an A natural. Measure 7 threw me for a loop, the beat felt displaced. I kind of liked it, though!

Gustav