''Belshazzar's Feast'' (), JS 48, is

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

to a play of the same name by the journalist, poet and playwright (1868−1927).

History

JSibelius BelshazzarsFeast 7Nov1906 NyaPressen

Sibelius composed in 1906 eight movements, scored for orchestra, with singers also being required in some

numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

. The first performance of the play and its incidental music was at the

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre () is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja () square, at the end of Esplanadi (). It was the first national stage of Finland. History The first theatre in Helsinki, '' Engels Te ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

on 7 November 1906, conducted by the composer. It had 21 performances through to January 1907. In 1907 Sibelius extracted a purely orchestral suite of four numbers, which is much better known than the original score. The suite has the

opus number In music, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's publication of that work. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among ...

51. It had its first performance in Helsinki on 25 September 1907, in the same concert as the premiere of the Third Symphony; the Orchestra of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society was again conducted by the composer. He also made a piano arrangement of the suite in 1907. ''The Jewish Girl's Song'' ('), Number 2b of the original score, existed in a number of versions. It was originally written for flute and orchestra. In 1907 it became the second movement, ''Solitude'', of the orchestral suite. In the same year Sibelius arranged it as a song for voice and piano. In 1939, he arranged it for voice and orchestra for the American contralto

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

, under the title "Solitude". The suite has had a number of recordings, conducted by Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, pianist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. His parents were the noted conductor and pedagog ...

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

Pietari Inkinen Pietari Inkinen (born 29 April 1980) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. Biography Inkinen was born in Kouvola, Finland, and began violin and piano studies at the age of 4. As a youth, he also performed in a rock band. He attended the Sibe ...

and others. The full original score had its world premiere recording by the

Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finland, Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipali ...

, Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo-soprano), Petri Lehto (tenor), Sauli Tiilikainen (baritone), Lahti Chamber Choir, conducted by

Osmo Vänskä Osmo Antero Vänskä (born 28 February 1953) is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist, and composer. Biography Vänskä started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic (1971–76). He then became the principal clar ...

, as part of

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recording ...

' Complete Sibelius Edition.

Structure

Incidental music

: 1. Alla marcia (Act I) : 2a. Nocturne (a prelude to Act II) : 2b. The Jewish Girl’s Song (Act II) : 3. Allegretto (Act III) : 4. Dance of Life (Act III) : 5. Dance of Death (Act III) : 6. (Part of No. 4) : 7. Tempo sostenuto (Act IV) : 8. Allegro (Act IV) : 9. (Repeat of No. 4) : 10. (Repeat of No. 5)

Suite

The suite was scored for two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle) and strings. # ''Oriental March'' (originally ''Alla marcia'') # ''Solitude'' (originally ''The Jewish Girl's Song'') # ''Nocturne'' (originally ''Prelude: Notturno'') # ''Khadra's Dance'' (originally ''Dance of Life'' and ''Dance of Death'').

References

Additional reading

External links

* * {{italic title 1906 compositions 1907 compositions Cultural depictions of Belshazzar Suites by Jean Sibelius Incidental music by Jean Sibelius Orchestral compositions by Jean Sibelius