Lemminkäinen Suite
- Wasenius [fi] (1901, Nos. 2, 4)[1]
- Breitkopf & Härtel (1954, Nos. 1, 3)[2]
The Lemminkäinen Suite, or more correctly Four Legends from the Kalevala, Op. 22, is a sequence of four tone poems for orchestra completed in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The work was conceived as Veneen luominen (The Building of the Boat), an opera with a mythological setting, before taking its form as a suite. There is a narrative thread: the exploits are followed of the heroic character Lemminkäinen from the Kalevala, which is a collection of folkloric, mythic, epic poetry. The second tone poem, The Swan of Tuonela, is popular as a standalone orchestral work.
History
The piece was originally conceived as a mythological opera before Sibelius abandoned the idea and made it a piece consisting of four distinct movements.[5] The first two though were withdrawn by the composer soon after its premiere and were neither performed, nor added to the published score of the suite until 1935. Sibelius changed the order of the movements when he made his final revisions in 1939, placing The Swan of Tuonela second, and Lemminkäinen in Tuonela third.[6][7]
Sibelius revised the score in 1897 and 1939.
Movements
- Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island is based on Canto 29 ("Conquests"[8]) of the Kalevala, where Lemminkäinen travels to an island and seduces many of the women there, before fleeing the rage of the men on the island. The movement is also known as Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari, Saari being the Finnish word for island.
- The Swan of Tuonela is the most popular of the four tone poems and often is featured alone from the suite in orchestral programs. It has a prominent cor anglais solo. The music paints a gossamer, transcendental image of a mystical swan swimming around Tuonela, the island of the dead. Lemminkäinen has been tasked with killing the sacred swan, but on the way he is shot with a poisoned arrow, and dies himself.
- Lemminkäinen in Tuonela is based on Canto 14 ("Elk, horse, swan"[9]) and 15 ("Resurrection"[10]). Lemminkäinen is in Tuonela, the land of the dead, to shoot the Swan of Tuonela to be able to claim the daughter of Louhi, mistress of the Pohjola or Northland, in marriage. However, the blind man of the Northland kills Lemminkäinen, whose body is then tossed in the river and dismembered. Lemminkäinen's mother learns of his death, travels to Tuonela, recovers his body parts, reassembles him and restores him to life.
- Lemminkäinen's Return: The storyline in the score roughly parallels the end of Canto 30 ("Pakkanen"[11]), where after his adventures in battle, Lemminkäinen journeys home.
Instrumentation
The suite is scored for two flutes (both doubling piccolo), two oboes (one doubling cor anglais), two clarinets in B♭ (one doubling on bass clarinet), two bassoons, four horns (in E and F), three trumpets (in E and F), three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, glockenspiel, harp, and strings.
Recordings
The original versions of Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island and Lemminkäinen's Return have been recorded by Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (BIS CD-1015). Other recordings of the full published suite are by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam, the Helsinki Radio Symphony Orchestra under Okko Kamu, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi, The Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Petri Sakari.
References
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 89, 91.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 88, 90.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 87, 89–91.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 85.
- ^ "Lemminkäinen". www.sibelius.fi. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
- ^ Barnett, Andrew, Sibelius (2007), p.341. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
- ^ Grimley 2011, p. 56.
- ^ Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, translated by Keith Bosley. Oxford University Press, Oxford World Classics edition (1989), pp. 401–417. ISBN 978-0-19-281700-6.
- ^ Lönnrot, (1989) pp. 155-167. Bosley, trans.
- ^ Lönnrot (1989), pp.168–186.
- ^ Lönnrot (1989), p. 431.
Sources
- Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
- Grimley, Daniel M. (2011). Jean Sibelius and His World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4020-5.
External links
- Lemminkäinen Suite (Lemminkäis-sarjaan), Op. 22: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
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- Kullervo (1892)
- Symphony No. 1 (1899, rev. 1900)
- Symphony No. 2 (1902)
- Symphony No. 3 (1907)
- Symphony No. 4 (1911)
- Symphony No. 5 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919)
- Symphony No. 6 (1923)
- Symphony No. 7 (1924)
- Symphony No. 8 (mid 1920s–c. 1938, abandoned)
- Violin Concerto (1904, rev. 1905)
- Two Serenades (1912–1913)
- Two Serious Melodies (1914–1915)
- Six Humoresques (1917–1918, No. 1 rev. 1940)
- Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (1929)
- En saga (1892, rev. 1902)
- Spring Song (1894, rev. 1895)
- The Wood Nymph (1895)
- Lemminkäinen Suite
- 1895, rev. 1897, 1900, 1939; includes The Swan of Tuonela
- Finlandia (1899)
- Pohjola's Daughter (1906)
- Nightride and Sunrise (1909)
- The Dryad (1910)
- The Bard (1913)
- Luonnotar (1913)
- The Oceanides (1914, rev. 1914)
- Tapiola (1926)
- The Building of the Boat (1893–1894, abandoned)
- The Maiden in the Tower (1896)
- King Christian II (1898)
- Kuolema
- 1903; includes Valse triste
- Pelléas et Mélisande (1905)
- Belshazzar's Feast (1906)
- Swanwhite (1908)
- The Lizard (1909)
- The Language of the Birds (1911)
- Scaramouche (1913)
- Everyman (1916)
- The Tempest (1925)
- Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1894
- Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II (1896)
- Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1897
- The Origin of Fire (1902, rev. 1910)
- The Captive Queen (1906)
- My Own Land (1918)
- Song of the Earth (1919)
- Hymn of the Earth (1920)
- Väinämöinen's Song (1926)
- The Rapids-Rider's Brides (1897)
- The Breaking of the Ice on the Oulu River (1899)
- Snöfrid (1900)
- Marjatta (1905, abandoned)
- Impromptu (1902, rev. 1910)
- The Raven (1910, abandoned)
- Overture in E major (1891)
- Ballet Scene (1891)
- Karelia Suite (1893)
- Rakastava (1894, arr. 1912)
- Scènes historiques I (1899, arr. 1911)
- Overture in A minor (1902)
- Romance in C major (1904)
- Cassazione (1904, rev. 1905)
- Pan and Echo (1906)
- In memoriam (1909, rev. 1910)
- Scènes historiques II (1912)
- Suite mignonne (1921)
- Suite champêtre (1922)
- Suite caractéristique (1922)
- String Quartet in E-flat major (1885)
- String Quartet in A minor (1889)
- String Quartet in B-flat major (1890)
- String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae (1909)
- Andante festivo (1922, orch. 1938)
- Piano Trio in A minor, Hafträsk (1886)
- Piano Trio in D major, Korpo (1887)
- Piano Trio in C major, Lovisa (1888)
- Water Droplets (c. 1875–1881)
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- Piano Quintet (1890)
- Malinconia (1900)
- Violin Sonatina (1915)
- Six Impromptus (1893)
- Piano Sonata (1893)
- Ten Pieces, Op. 24 (1895–1903)
- Kyllikki (1904)
- Three Sonatinas (1912)
- The Bells of Kallio Church (1912, arr. 1912)
- Two Rondinos (1912)
- Five Pieces, The Trees, Op. 75 (1914)
- Five Pieces, The Flowers, Op. 85 (1916–1917)
- Five Esquisses (1929)
- Seven Runeberg Songs, Op. 13 (1891–1892)
- "Serenad", JS 168 (1894–1895)
- Six Songs, Op. 36 (1899–1900)
- Five Songs, Op. 37 (1900–1902)
- Seven Songs, Op. 17 (1891–1904)
- Five Songs, Op. 38 (1903–1904; includes "Höstkväll")
- Six Songs, Op. 50 (1906)
- Two Songs, Op. 35 (1908)
- "Kom nu hit, död", Op. 60/1 (1909, orch. 1957)
- "Arioso", Op. 3 (1911)
- Five Christmas Songs, Op. 1 (1897–1913; includes "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt")
- Six Runeberg Songs, Op. 90 (1917)
- Hymn, Op. 21 (1896, rev. 1898)
- Songs for Mixed Chorus from the 1897 Promotional Cantata (arr. 1898)
- Finlandia Hymn (1899, arr. 1938–1940)
- Six Partsongs, Op. 18 (1893–1901)
- Jäger March (1917)
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- Alexander Järnefelt (father-in-law)
- Elisabeth Järnefelt (mother-in-law)
- Armas Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
- Arvid Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
- Eero Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
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- Helsinki Music Institute: Martin Wegelius (theory, composition)
- Mitrofan Vasiliev (violin)
- Hermann Csillag [de] (violin)
- Post-graduate studies: Albert Becker
- Robert Fuchs
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- Toivo Kuula
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- Olin Downes
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- Erkki Melartin
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- Rosa Newmarch
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- Selim Palmgren
- Adolf Paul
- Wilhelm Stenhammar
- Karl Wasenius [fi]
- Fabian Dahlström [fi]
- Karl Ekman [fi]
- Erik Furuhjelm [fi]
- Glenda Dawn Goss
- Cecil Gray
- Robert Layton
- Nils-Eric Ringbom [fi]
- Erik W. Tawaststjerna
- International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition
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