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Summary of compositions by genre

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The metre and myths the Kalevala inspired many of Sibelius's best works, including Luonnotar (1913).
The nature world also inspired Sibelius; for example, he described the crane's call as "the Leitmotiv of my life".

Orchestral works

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Although Sibelius composed in all major genres, he is most celebrated for his orchestral music.[C] Among these, Valse triste (Op. 44/1, 1903) and patriotic works such as the Karelia Suite (Op. 11, 1893) and Finlandia (Op. 26, 1899) are, as popular pieces, the most ubiquitous.[C] The seven symphonies (1899–1924), however, are the core of his oeuvre, as well as stalwarts of the standard concert repertoire. Although the First (Op. 39, 1899, rev. 1900), Second (Op. 43, 1902), and Fifth (Op. 82, 1915, rev. 1916 and 1919) symphonies are the most performed and recorded, the Fourth (Op. 63, 1911) is arguably the most critically acclaimed, while the Seventh (Op. 105, 1925)—in one movement—imperceptibly erodes the subdivisions of sonata form.[C] Sibelius's breakthrough was the 1892 choral symphony Kullervo (Op. 7),[a] which is based on a story from the Kalevala, Finland's national epic; withdrawn in 1893 but resurrected posthumously in 1959, it is the longest composition in the composer's œuvre and has entered the Finnish canon.[C]

Sibelius's lone multi-movement concertante work, the Violin Concerto (Op. 47, 1904, rev. 1905), is one of the most famous and technically-demanding in the repertoire.[C] Less well-known, although similarly virtuosic and melodious, are Sibelius's miniatures for violin and orchestra, among them the Two Serenades (Op. 69, 1912–1913) and the Six Humoresques (Opp. 87 & 89, 1917–1918).[C] Sibelius similarly made important contributions to the tone poem genre; these include En saga (Op. 9, 1892, rev. 1902), The Wood Nymph (Op. 15, 1894; rediscovered in the University archives in the mid-1990s), The Bard (Op. 64, 1913), The Oceanides (Op. 73, 1914, rev. 1914), and several compositions based on the Kalevala, such as The Swan of Tuonela (No. 2 from The Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, 1895, rev. 1897 & 1900), Pohjola's Daughter (Op. 49, 1906), Luonnotar (Op. 70, 1913), and Tapiola (Op. 112, 1926);[C] the cantatas The Origin of Fire (Op. 32, 1902, rev. 1910) and Väinämöinen's Song (Op. 110, 1926) also take their inspiration from the Finnish national epic.[C] A third patriotic cantata, unrelated to the national epic, is My Own Land (Op. 92, 1918); Sibelius wrote this piece during the Finnish Civil War.[C] Sibelius also composed numerous melodramas, of which the most impressive is Snöfrid (Op. 29, 1900).[C]

Throughout his career, Sibelius accepted commissions from the Swedish Theatre, the Finnish National Theatre, and the Royal Danish Theatre to provide incidental music for various productions; Symbolist plays in particular drew his attention and fired his imagination.[1] Many of these scores, albeit in their second lives as derived concert suites, have remained popular,[1][2] in particular King Christian II (Op. 27, 1898), Pelléas and Mélisande (Op. 46, 1905), Belshazzar's Feast (Op. 51, 1906, arr. 1907), Swanwhite (Op. 54, 1908), and The Tempest (Op. 109, 1925, arr. 1927).[C] As a composer of opera, however, Sibelius did not find success:[C] first, he abandoned his initial attempt, The Building of the Boat, in 1895; and second, his only completed opera, the one-act The Maiden in the Tower (JS 101, 1896), suffered from a weak libretto and was withdrawn soon after its premiere.[3] (Sibelius's desire to compose a viable opera persisted into his mature period, and he considered—but did not pursue—several projects in the 1910s.)[4] Libretto issues, too, plagued Sibelius's lone ballet, the two-act pantomime Scaramouche (Op. 71, 1913). It is relatively obscure, despite being his longest through-composed score.[C]

In the 1880s, Sibelius (violin) and his siblings, Linda (piano) and Christian (cello), formed a trio; he wrote extensively for this ensemble type, including the Korpo and Lovisa trios.[5]
Sibelius's output for piano has divided commentators, some of whom find his approach "unpianistic" (too orchestral).
Erik Tawaststjerna, who authored seminal biography on Sibelius, advocated for the composer's piano pieces.

Chamber works

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Sibelius wrote a profusion of chamber music during his student years at the Helsinki Music Institute (1885–1889), where he was the star pupil of the director, Martin Wegelius.[b] Such juvenilia includes four piano trios, of which the most famous (due to its publication in the 1990s, far in advance of the others) is the Lovisa Trio in C major (JS 208, 1888);[C] however, its predecessor, the Korpo Trio in D major (JS 209, 1887), also has its advocates. (For example, the Sibelius biographer Andrew Barnett has written: "Of Sibelius's early chamber pieces, few—if any—have a more urgent claim on the repertoire".)[7] During these early years, Sibelius also wrote the Piano Quintet in G minor (JS 159, 1890),[C] as well as three string quartets: the first in E-flat major (JS 184, 1885),[C] the second in A minor (JS 183, 1889),[C] and the third in B-flat major (Op. 4, 1890; the earliest of Sibelius's compositions to retain its opus number).[C]

Once the orchestra became his chosen medium of expression, however, he largely abandoned the chamber genre in his maturity. Exceptions to this rule include: Malinconia, for cello and piano (Op. 20, 1900);[C] the theatre music to The Lizard (Op. 8, 1909), for solo violin and no more than eight additional strings;[C] his masterpiece for string quartet, the symphonic-like Voces intimae (Op. 56, 1909);[C] and the Violin Sonatina (Op. 80, 1915), which is the most important in the steady stream of late-career duos for violin and piano that Sibelius composed during the First World War in order to stave off financial ruin.[C] A final piece, Andante festivo for string quartet (JS 34, 1922), is better known in its 1938 arrangement for orchestra.[C]

Works for solo instrument

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Sibelius's large output for piano has divided commentators, some of whom find his approach to be "unpianistic" (too orchestral);[8] although it has enjoyed the advocacy of several pianists, it is largely neglected outside of the Nordic realm.[9] Particularly important are early works such as the Six Impromptus (Op. 5, 1893),[C] the Piano Sonata (Op. 12, 1893),[C] and the Ten Pieces (Op. 24, 1895–1903; includes No. 9 Romance in D-flat major and No. 10 Barcarola in G minor);[C] and mature works such as Kyllikki (Op. 41, 1904),[C] the Three Sonatinas (Op. 67, 1912; often hailed as Sibelius's masterpieces in the genre),[10] the Two Rondinos (Op. 68, 1912),[C] and the Five Pieces, The Trees (Op. 75, 1914; includes No. 3 The Aspen and No. 5 The Spruce, which is probably Sibelius's most popular piano composition).[C] The Five Esquisses (Op. 114, 1929)—in that they demonstrate Sibelius's late style—may provide clues as to how the Eighth Symphony might have sounded.[11]

Sibelius wrote very little for solo organ. However, according to Aino Sibelius, the Funeral Music (Op. 111b, 1931), too, shares a kinship with the Eighth Symphony.[12] Sibelius's most important organ work, however, is Intrada (Op. 111a, 1925), a "display piece for Finnish organists" that relates harmonically to the Seventh Symphony.[13][14] Another piece for 'solo instrument', unique in Sibelius's oeuvre, is The Bells of Kallio Church (JS 102, 1912). This chorale sounds twice daily in Helsinki—at noon and 18 o'clock—on the mechanized carillon of Kallio Church, making it Sibelius's most 'performed' composition.[15][16] (Sibelius subsequently arranged this piece for solo piano, as well as for mixed choir; each is his Op. 65b.)

Songs

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Sibelius was also a prolific composer of art songs. All but a few of Sibelius's songs are settings of Swedish-language poems (quantitatively, his favorite poets were Ernst Josephson, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Viktor Rydberg, and Karl August Tavaststjerna [fi])[17] and are with piano accompaniment; while many are of high quality, the language barrier has led to their relative neglect outside the Nordic realm.[18] The most celebrated published sets are the Op. 35 Two Songs (1907–1908; No. 1 Jubal and No. 2 Teodora),[19] the Op. 36 Six Songs (1899–1900; includes: No. 1 Black Roses, No. 2 But My Bird is Long in Homing, No. 4 Sigh, Sigh, Sedges, and No. 6 The Diamond on the March Snow ),[20] the Op. 37 Five Songs (1900–1902; includes: No. 3 Sunrise and No. 5 The Girl Returned Home from Meeting Her Lover),[21] and the Op. 38 Five Songs (1903–1904; includes: No. 1 Autumn Evening, No. 2 On a Balcony by the Sea, and No. 3 In the Night).[22] Also notable are a handful of songs from other opus numbers, such as: Spring is Flying (Op. 13/4, 1891),[23] Since Then I Have Questioned No Further (Op. 17/1, 1892),[24] The Silent City (Op. 50/5, 1906),[25] I am a Tree (Op. 57/5, 1909),[26] the aforementioned Come Away, Death (Op. 60/1, 1909),[27] Slowly as the Evening Sky (Op. 61/2, 1910),[28] Arioso (Op. 3, 1911),[29] Longing Is My Heritage (Op. 86/2, 1916),[30] and The North (Op. 90/1, 1917).[31]

Founded in 1883, the YL Male Voice Choir (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat) premiered many of Sibelius's choral works.
Three Finnish singers (from left) closely associated with Sibelius's songs were the soprano Aino Ackté, the baritone Abraham Ojanperä, and the soprano Ida Ekman.

In the 1890s, Sibelius wrote two orchestral songs—Serenade (JS 167, 1894–1895) and The Rapids-Rider's Brides (1897, Op. 33)—for the Finnish baritone Abraham Ojanperä;[32] the former is one of Sibelius's "greatest and most subtle" songs,[33] although in the 1910s Sibelius demoted it from his opus list.[34] A third orchestral song is Luonnotar, a masterpiece that Sibelius wrote for the Finnish operatic soprano Aino Ackté in 1913; notoriously difficult to sing, it is—as noted above—commonly classified as a tone poem.[35] Finally, Sibelius also orchestrated several songs: for the Finnish soprano Ida Ekman, three in 1903 (On a Balcony by the Sea, In the Night, and Since Then I Have Questioned No Further ),[36] one in 1911 (Arioso),[37] two in 1913 (Spring is Flying and Sunrise),[38] and one in 1917 (The Diamond on the March Snow);[39] as well as, in the last year of his life, Come Away, Death and Kullervo's Lament (from Op. 7) for the Finnish bass-baritone Kim Borg.[40] The 1904 orchestration of Autumn Evening—a song associated with Ackté—is also acclaimed.[41]

Choral works

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Unlike the arts songs, the choral works are mostly sung in Finnish; they thus played an important role in Sibelius's designation as Finland's most important national composer.[C] The Op. 18 Six Partsongs (1893–1904; includes: No. 1 The Broken Voice, No. 3 The Boat Journey, No. 4 Fire on the Island, No. 6 Song of My Heart, each later arr. for mixed choir) and Rakastava (1894, arr. for mixed choir in 1898), which together revolutionized Finnish choral music with their novel harmonies.[42] In 1899, Sibelius arranged the Op. 23 Songs for Mixed Chorus from the 1897 Promotional Cantata for soprano, baritone, and mixed choir from a (now partially lost) cantata; several numbers (No. 1 We the Youth of Finland, No. 6a We Praise Thee, Our Creator, No. 6b Blow, Wind, More Gently) remain popular in Finland.[43][44] Other notable a cappella works include: In the Morning Mist (JS 9a, 1898) and To the Fatherland (1899, rev. & arr. 1900, JS 98) (each of which was, at one point, associated with Op. 18),[45] as well as the Swedish-language songs Men from Land and Sea (Op. 65a, 1911) and Dreams (JS 64, 1917).[46]

Sibelius's most famous choral work, however, is the Finlandia Hymn (1938–1940, arr. for mixed choir in 1948), which he excerpted from the eponymous tone poem in order to combat the ubiquity of unauthorized arrangements.[43][47][48] The hymn, furthermore, doubles as the concluding number in the Masonic Ritual Music (1927, rev. 1946–1948) for tenor, male choir, and accompaniment (either harmonium or organ), which Sibelius—initiated on 18 August 1922 as a member of the Grand Lodge of Finland—wrote for the Finnish free masons.[49]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ a b Kurki 2001, p. 76–77.
  2. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 156–157.
  3. ^ Layton, pp. 124–125.
  4. ^ Layton 1997, p. 124.
  5. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 8–9, 26–27, 43–44.
  6. ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 52.
  7. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 27.
  8. ^ Heinonen 2000a, p. 5; Layton 1993, pp. 189–190, 194–195.
  9. ^ Heinonen 2000a, pp. 3–4.
  10. ^ Heinonen 2000b, pp. 10–11; Layton 1993, pp. 192–193, 195.
  11. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 329–330.
  12. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 333–334.
  13. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 318, 320.
  14. ^ Lehtola 2010, p. 27.
  15. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 207, 224.
  16. ^ Valsta 2015.
  17. ^ Layton 1992, pp. 160–161.
  18. ^ Layton 1992, pp. 159–160.
  19. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 191–192; Layton 1992, pp. 161, 168.
  20. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 127–128, 140–141, 266; Layton 1992, pp. 168–171.
  21. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 140–141, 143, 149–150, 237; Layton 1992, pp. 171–172.
  22. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 155–156, 165; Layton 1992, pp. 172–174.
  23. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 64; Layton 1992, p. 164.
  24. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 76–77; Layton 1992, pp. 165–166.
  25. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 178; Layton 1992, pp. 174–175.
  26. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 196; Layton 1992, pp. 175–176.
  27. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 201; Layton 1992, p. 176.
  28. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 206; Layton 1992, pp. 176–177.
  29. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 215; Layton 1992, pp. 162–163.
  30. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 262; Layton 1992, p. 178.
  31. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 273–274; Layton 1992, p. 179.
  32. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 113–114.
  33. ^ Layton 1992, p. 165.
  34. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 691.
  35. ^ Layton 1992, pp. 46, 108, 161.
  36. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 155–156.
  37. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 215.
  38. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 237.
  39. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 266.
  40. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 348–349.
  41. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 166, 170; Layton 1992, p. 161.
  42. ^ Ylivuori 2015, pp. 6–7.
  43. ^ a b Ylivuori 2015, p. 11.
  44. ^ Dahlström 1999, p. 7.
  45. ^ Hovinen 1998, p. 20.
  46. ^ Hovinen 1998, pp. 13, 17.
  47. ^ Dahlström 1999, p. 8.
  48. ^ Hovinen 1998, p. 21.
  49. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 324–325, 340, 346–347.
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