''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.''
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.
Although he initially composed it for orchestra, in 1900 Sibelius arranged the work for solo
piano.
[Sibelius – The Music](_blank)
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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 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: 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.
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The last two movements of the suite were reworked to become ''Finlandia''.
The original movements are as follows.
*'' Preludium:'' ''Andante (ma non troppo)''
*'' Tableau 1:'' ''The Song of ''
*''Tableau 2:'' '' The Finns are Baptized by Bishop Henry''
*''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
Further reading
*Hepokoski, James (2004). "''Finlandia'' awakens." In Daniel M. Grimley, ed., ''The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius'' (Cambridge University Press), pp. 81–94.
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