''Finlandia'', Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, and was the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history. The premiere was on 2 July 1900 in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. A typical performance takes between 7½ and 9 minutes depending on how it is performed. In order to avoid Russian censorship, ''Finlandia'' had to be performed under alternative names at various musical concerts. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous and often confusing —famous examples include ''Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring,'' and ''A Scandinavian Choral March.'' According to Finland's tourism website, "While Finland was still a Grand Duchy under Russia performances within the empire had to take place under the covert title of 'Impromptu'." Most of the piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people. Towards the end, a calm comes over the orchestra, and the serene and melodic '' Finlandia Hymn'' is heard. Often incorrectly cited as a traditional folk melody, the Hymn section is of Sibelius' own creation. Finlandia première édition

Although he initially composed it for orchestra, in 1900 Sibelius arranged the work for solo piano.Sibelius – The Music
/ref> Sibelius later reworked the ''Finlandia Hymn'' into a stand-alone piece. This hymn, with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, is one of the most important

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

songs of Finland. It has been repeatedly suggested to be the official national anthem of Finland. Today, during modern performances of the full-length ''Finlandia'', a choir is sometimes involved, singing the Finnish lyrics with the hymn section. With different words, it is also sung as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

hymn (''I Sought The Lord, And Afterward I Knew''; ''Be Still, My Soul'', ''When Memory Fades,'' ''Hail, Festal Day'', in Italian evangelical churches: Veglia al mattino), and was the national anthem of the short-lived African state of Biafra (''Land of the Rising Sun''). In Wales the tune is used for Lewis Valentine's patriotic hymn ''Gweddi Dros Gymru (A Prayer for Wales)''.

Instrumentation

The tone poem is scored for large orchestra, consisting of the following: ; Woodwinds: 2

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s, 2 oboes, 2 B

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s ; Brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba ; Percussion: timpani,

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s, triangle ;

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

: 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Press Celebrations Music

As with the '' Karelia Suite'', the original ''Press Celebrations Music'' suite was never originally released under Sibelius' supervision, but after almost 99 years with the sheet music untouched, the suite was reconstructed and released on two different CDs, the first one by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998, conducted by Tuomas Ollila, and the second by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 2000, conducted by Osmo Vänskä.Allmusic's general information about the suite.
/ref> The last two movements of the suite were reworked to become ''Finlandia''. The original movements are as follows. *'' Preludium:'' ''Andante (ma non troppo)'' *''

Tableau Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to: Arts * ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled ''Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV'' * ''Tableau viv ...

1:'' ''The Song of '' *''Tableau 2:'' '' The Finns are Baptized by

Bishop Henry Saint Henry ( fi, Henrik; sv, Henrik; la, Henricus; died 20 January 1156.) was a medieval English clergyman. He came to Sweden with Cardinal Nicholas Breakspeare in 1153 and was most likely designated to be the new Archbishop of Uppsala, but th ...

'' *''Tableau 3:'' ''Scene from Duke Johan's Court'' *''Tableau 4:'' ''The Finns in the Thirty Years' War'' *''Tableau 5:'' '' The Great Hostility'' *''Tableau 6:'' ''Finland Awakes''

References

External links

*
Full score
of a number of Sibelius's tone poems, including this piece
2012 YouTube video recording of Finlandia Op. 26 by Jean Sibelius
{{italic title Symphonic poems by Jean Sibelius 1900 compositions National symbols of Finland Compositions in A-flat major

Instrumentation

Press Celebrations Music

References

Further reading

External links