Sibelius Rakastava

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Sibelius Rakastava Program Notes

This  three-movement  work  for  string  orchestra,  timpani  and  triangle,  began  life  as  an  unaccompanied  work  for  men’s  choir,  entered  in  the  1893  University  of  Helsinki  choral  competition.    For  a  text,  Sibelius  chose  three  poems  from  the  Kanteletar,  a  book  of  Finnish-language  folk  poetry  collected  by  Elias  Lönnrot  decades  earlier.  A  Finnish-language  book  was  a  bold  statement  at  the  time:  from  the  Middle  Ages,  Finland  had  been  part  of  Sweden,  then  from  1809,  Russia.    Like  most  of  the  population,  Sibelius  actually  grew  up  speaking  Swedish.    His  studies  took  him  to  Berlin  and  Vienna,  where  he  began  exploring  Finnish  legends  and  poetry.    In  1891,  he  had  written  to  his  proudly  nationalist  fiancé,  Aino  Järnefelt,  that  he  felt  Finnish  traditions  were  represented  in  folk  music,  and  of  a  …sonorous,  remarkably  melancholy  monotony  in  all  Finnish  melodies.dzIn  Rakastava  (The  Lovers),  the  first  song  asks  the  question  where  is  my  beloved? describing  the  joy  the  poet  would  feel  if  his  beloved  were  approaching,  and  how  nature’s  silence  would  come  to  life.    The  second  describes  places:  clearings,  a  boulder,  heather,  the  forest,  where  the  beloved  had  been,  and  which  are  fairer  from  her  presence.    The  third  and  final  song  is  Good  evening,  and  farewell.    They  embrace,  kiss,  and  the  poet  bids  his  beloved  good  night.  Sibelius  reworked  the  piece  for  different  forces,  including  mixed  choir  and  strings,  and  this  final,  instrumental  version  is  from  1911.

Categories: Program Notes