Väinämöinen's Song
Väinämöinen's Song | |
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Cantata by Jean Sibelius | |
![]() The composer (c. 1927) | |
Native name | Väinön virsi |
Opus | 110 |
Text | Kalevala (Runo XLIII)[1] |
Language | Finnish |
Composed | 1926 (1926) |
Duration | 11 mins.[2] |
Premiere | |
Date | 28 June 1926 (1926-06-28)[2] |
Location | Sortavala, Finland |
Conductor | Robert Kajanus |
Väinämöinen's Song (in Finnish: Väinön virsi; sometimes translated to English simply as Väinö's Song), Op. 110, is a single-movement, patriotic cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1926 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of Runo XLIII (lines 385–434) of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, is chronologically the final of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas; in particular, it belongs to the series of four "little known, but beautiful"[3] cantatas from the composer's mature period that also includes My Own Land (Op. 92, 1918), Song of the Earth (Op. 93, 1919), and Hymn of the Earth (Op. 95, 1920). Väinämöinen's Song premiered on 28 June 1926 in Sortavala, Finland.
Instrumentation
Väinämöinen's Song is scored for the following instruments and voices,[2] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
- Mixed choir (SATB)
- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B♭), and 2 bassoons
- 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in B♭), and 3 trombones
- Timpani, bass drum, triangle, and glockenspiel
- Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses
The cantata premiered on 26 June 1926 at a singing festival in Sortavala (then still part of Finland), with the Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus conducting.[4]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Joseph_Alanen_-_V%C3%A4in%C3%A4m%C3%B6inen_Sowing_%28cropped%29.jpg/172px-Joseph_Alanen_-_V%C3%A4in%C3%A4m%C3%B6inen_Sowing_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Robert_Kajanus_ca_1920.jpg/172px-Robert_Kajanus_ca_1920.jpg)
Text
Original Finnish | English translation[a] |
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"Ole puolla poikiesi, | 'O protect thy sons for ever, |
Discography
The Estonian conductor Eri Klas and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus made the world premiere studio recording of the Väinämöinen's Song in 1990 for Ondine.[2] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
No. | Conductor | Orchestra | Chorus | Rec.[b] | Time[c] | Venue | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eri Klas | Finnish National Opera Orchestra | Finnish National Opera Chorus | 1990 | 9:40 | Roihuvuori Church [fi] | Ondine | [d] |
2 | Paavo Järvi | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra | Estonian National Male Choir Ellerhein Girls' Choir | 2002 | 8:42 | Estonia Concert Hall | Virgin Classics | [e] |
3 | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dominante Choir [fi] | 2004 | 8:53 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | [f] |
Notes, references, and sources
Notes
- ^ This translation, by W. F. Kirby, is from the liner notes to the recording by Osmo Vänskä, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, and the Dominante Choir [fi].[5]
- ^ 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.
- ^ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
- ^ E. Klas—Ondine (ODE 754-2) 1990
- ^ P. Järvi—Virgin Classics (7243 5 45589 2 4) 2003
- ^ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1565) 2006
References
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 406.
- ^ a b c d Dahlström 2003, p. 468.
- ^ Lascar 2003, p. 11.
- ^ Barnett 2007, p. 7.
- ^ Barnett 2005, pp. 33–34.
Sources
- Barnett, Andrew (2005). Sibelius: Song of the Earth (booklet). Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, & Dominante Choir. BIS. BIS CD-1365. OCLC 62255940
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300111590.
- 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.
- Lascar, Pierre-Yves (2003). Sibelius: Cantatas (booklet). Paavo Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, & Estonian National Male Choir. Virgin Classics. 7243 5 45589 2 4. OCLC 52897195
- Okkonen, Jukka (1990). Sibelius: Cantatas (booklet). Eri Klas, Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Ondine. ODE 754-2. OCLC 26017670
External links
- Väinö's Song (Väinön virsi), Op. 110: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
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- t
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- Kullervo (1892)
- Symphony No. 1 (1899, rev. 1900)
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- Symphony No. 7 (1924)
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- 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)
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- Nightride and Sunrise (1909)
- The Dryad (1910)
- The Bard (1913)
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- Kuolema
- 1903; includes Valse triste
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- 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)
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- Suite caractéristique (1922)
- String Quartet in E-flat major (1885)
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- 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)
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- Piano Trio in C major, Lovisa (1888)
- Water Droplets (c. 1875–1881)
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- "Serenad", JS 168 (1894–1895)
- Six Songs, Op. 36 (1899–1900)
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- "Kom nu hit, död", Op. 60/1 (1909, orch. 1957)
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- 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
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- 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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