Serenad
- Abraham Ojanperä (baritone)
- Helsinki Philharmonic Society
"Serenad" (in English: "Serenade"; in Finnish: "Serenadi"),[a] JS 168, is an art song for baritone and orchestra written in c. 1894–1895[2] by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the eponymous poem by the Swedish poet Erik Johan Stagnelius, premiered on 17 April in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society; the soloist was the Finnish baritone Abraham Ojanperä.[1]
The "Serenad", however, remained unpublished and was never performed again in Sibelius's lifetime, apparently because he wished to revise it (however, a planned revision in 1910 never materialized).[3] In 1984, however, the composer's estate agreed to permit its recording.[4] The song was first published in Volume VIII/1 of the Jean Sibelius Works (JSW) critical edition,[1] an ongoing collaborative project involving the National Library of Finland, the German firm of Breitkopf & Härtel, and the Sibelius Society of Finland.[1]
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Instrumentation
The "Serenad" is scored for the following instruments and voices,[1] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, and strings):
- Baritone
- 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, and 2 bassoons
- 4 horns
- Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses
Reception
The British musicologist Robert Layton has praised the "Serenad" as "something of a discovery ... it has the greatest delicacy and atmosphere, and its whispering pizzicato strings are wonderfully suggestive". He concludes by labeling it as "one of Sibelius's very greatest and most subtle songs both in its use of rhythm and color".[4] The Sibelius biographer Andrew Barnett characterizes the "Serenad" as a "nocturnal lament for [one's] lost love", the chromaticism of which illustrates the extent to which still in the mid-1890s, Sibelius was under Wagner's spell.[3]
Discography
The Finnish conductor Jorma Panula and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Finnish baritone Jorma Hynninen, made the world premiere studio recording of the "Serenad" in 1984 for BIS.[1] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
No. | Soloist | Conductor | Orchestra | Rec.[b] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorma Hynninen | Jorma Panula | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | 1984 | 4:39 | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS | [c] |
2 | Tommi Hakala | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | 2005 | 5:47 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | [d] |
Notes, references, and sources
Notes
- ^ Because Sibelius's JS 168 song is sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to its native title, rather than the English translation.
- ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
- ^ J. Panula—BIS (CD–270) 1985
- ^ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1565) 2006
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dahlström 2003, p. 603.
- ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 98, 383.
- ^ a b Barnett 2007, p. 99.
- ^ a b Layton 1993, p. 165.
Sources
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16397-1.
- 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.
- Layton, Robert (1993) [1965]. Sibelius. (The Master Musicians Series) (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028713222.
- v
- t
- e
- 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)
- Pieces for brass septet (1889–1899)
- 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)
- Ainola (home)
- Aino Sibelius (wife)
- Ruth Snellman [fi] (daughter)
- Heidi Blomstedt (daughter)
- Christian Sibelius (brother)
- Aulis Blomstedt (son-in-law)
- Jussi Jalas (son-in-law)
- Jussi Snellman [fi] (son-in-law)
- 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)
- Kasper Järnefelt [fi] (brother-in-law)
- Helsinki Music Institute: Martin Wegelius (theory, composition)
- Mitrofan Vasiliev (violin)
- Hermann Csillag [de] (violin)
- Post-graduate studies: Albert Becker
- Robert Fuchs
- Karl Goldmark
- Toivo Kuula
- Leevi Madetoja
- Bengt de Törne [fi]
- Juhani Aho
- Aino Ackté
- Granville Bantock
- Ferruccio Busoni
- Axel Carpelan [fi] (patron)
- Olin Downes
- Ida Ekman
- Richard Faltin [fi]
- Ida Flodin [fi]
- Karl Flodin [fi]
- Akseli Gallen-Kallela
- Heikki Klemetti [fi]
- Santeri Levas (secretary)
- Erkki Melartin
- Oskar Merikanto
- Rosa Newmarch
- Abraham Ojanperä
- 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
- Jean Sibelius Quartet
- Sibelius (2003 film)
- Sibelius (scorewriter)
- Sibelius Academy
- Sibelius Academy Quartet
- Sibelius Glacier
- Sibelius Hall
- Sibelius Medal
- Sibelius Monument
- Sibelius Museum
- Sibelius Piano Trio
- Sibelius Society of Finland
- 1405 Sibelius (asteroid)
- Wihuri Sibelius Prize
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