Six Songs, Op. 36 (Sibelius)

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Six Songs, Op. 36
Song collection by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1900)
Opus36
LanguageSwedish
Composed1899 (1899)–1900; No. 6 orch. 1917
External audio
Sung by Anne Sofie von Otter,
accompanied by Bengt Forsberg
audio icon 1) "Svarta rosor"
audio icon 2) "Men min fågel märks dock icke"
audio icon 3) "Bollspelet vid Trianon"
audio icon 4) "Säv, säv, susa"
audio icon 5) "Marssnön"
audio icon 6) "Demanten på marssnön"

The Six Songs, Op. 36,[a] is a collection of Swedish-language art songs for vocal soloist and piano written from 1899 to 1900 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.[b] As a group, Op. 36 is Sibelius's most popular song set; indeed, "Svarta rosor" is arguably the best-known song in his entire oeuvre.[3] "Säv, säv, susa", too, is oft-performed.[4]

Constituent songs[edit]

Ordered by catalogue number, the Op. 36 songs are as follows:

  • "Svarta rosor" ("Black Roses"), Op. 36/1 (1899); text by the Swedish poet Ernst Josephson[5][c]
  • "Men min fågel märks dock icke" ("But My Bird is Long in Homing"), Op. 36/2 (1899); text by the Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg[7][d]
  • "Bollspelet vid Trianon" ("Tennis at Trianon"), Op. 36/3 (1899); text by the Swedish poet Gustaf Fröding[9][e]
  • "Säv, säv, susa" ("Sigh, Sigh, Sedges"), Op. 36/4 (1900); text by Fröding[11][f]
  • "Marssnön" ("The March Snow"), Op. 36/5 (1900); text by the Finnish poet Josef Julius Wecksell[13][g]
  • "Demanten på marssnön" ("The Diamond on the March Snow"), Op. 36/6 (1900); text by Wecksell[15][h]

The collection was first published piecemeal by two Helsinki-based firms: Fazer & Westerlund [fi] (Helsingfors Nya Musikhandel) printed Nos. 1–4 from 1900 to 1901, while Axel E. Lindgren printed Nos. 5–6 in 1901.[17] The table below provides additional information about each song:

Song Tempo Time Key Premiere Ref.
Soloist Pianist Date Venue
No. 1 Commodo
common time
 A minor Ida Ekman Karl Ekman [fi] 21 September 1899 (1899-09-21) Solemnity Hall, Helsinki
[6]
No. 2 Andantino
common time
 A minor
[8]
No. 3 Vivace
3
4
 A major 24 October 1900 (1900-10-24)
[10]
No. 4 Andantino
2
4
 G-flat major Adée Leander-Flodin [fi] Karl Flodin [fi] Autumn 1900 (1900) ?
[12]
No. 5 Andantino
5
4
 E minor Ida Ekman Karl Ekman 12 October 1902 (1902-10-12) VPK Hall [fi], Helsinki
[16]
No. 6 Commodo
6
4
 B-flat major Alexandra Ahnger Oskar Merikanto 8 February 1901 (1901-02-08) Solemnity Hall, Helsinki
[18]

Orchestral version of No. 6[edit]

In January 1917, Sibelius arranged "Demanten på marssnön" for vocalist and orchestra, which he intended for his frequent collaborator, the celebrated Finnish soprano Ida Ekman;[19] she premiered this version of the song on 22 February 1917 in Helsinki, with her husband, Karl Ekman [fi], conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.[20] It is scored for the following instruments and voices,[20] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, and strings):

  • Vocalist (typically soprano or baritone)
  • 2 flutes and 2 clarinets
  • Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp

The orchestral version of "Demanten på marssnön" was first published in Volume VIII/1 of the Jean Sibelius Works (JSW) critical edition,[20] an ongoing collaborative project involving the National Library of Finland, the German firm of Breitkopf & Härtel, and the Sibelius Society of Finland.[21]

Notes, references, and sources[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Because Sibelius's Op. 36 songs are sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to each song's native title, rather than the English translation.
  2. ^ All but a few of Sibelius's songs are settings of Swedish-language poems (quantitatively, his favorite poets were Ernst Josephson, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Viktor Rydberg, and Karl August Tavaststjerna [fi])[1] and are with piano accompaniment. While many are of high quality, they largely have been neglected outside the Nordic realm, due to the limited coverage (in terms of number of speakers) of Swedish (relative to, for example, German or French).[2]
  3. ^ "Svarta rosor" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Mustat ruusut"; in German: "Schwarze Rosen"; and in French: "Roses funèbres".[6]
  4. ^ "Men min fågel märks dock icke" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Vaan mun lintuain ei kuulu"; in German: "Doch mein Vogel kehrt nicht wieder"; and in French: "Mon Oiseau ne revient pas".[8]
  5. ^ "Bollspelet vid Trianon" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Palloleikki Trianonissa"; in German: "Ballspiel in Trianon"; and in French: "Bal à Trianon".[10]
  6. ^ "Säv, säv, susa" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Soi, soi, kaisla"; in German: "Schilfrohr, säus'le"; and in French: "Parle, ô vague". An alternative English translation of the title is "Reed, Reed, Rustle".[12]
  7. ^ "Marssnön" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Maaliskuun lumi"; and in German: "Märzschnee".[14]
  8. ^ "Demanten på marssnön" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Timantti hangella"; and in German: "Der Diamant auf dem Märzschnee".[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Layton 1993, pp. 160–161.
  2. ^ Layton 1993, pp. 159–160.
  3. ^ Layton 1993, pp. 161, 168.
  4. ^ Layton 1993, pp. 161, 170.
  5. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 405; Dahlström 2003, pp. 156–158.
  6. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 156.
  7. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 405; Dahlström 2003, pp. 159–160.
  8. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 159.
  9. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 405; Dahlström 2003, pp. 160–161.
  10. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 160.
  11. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 405; Dahlström 2003, pp. 161–162.
  12. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 161.
  13. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 406; Dahlström 2003, pp. 162–163.
  14. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 162.
  15. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 384, 406; Dahlström 2003, pp. 163–165.
  16. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 163.
  17. ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 156–164.
  18. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 164.
  19. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 266.
  20. ^ a b c Dahlström 2003, p. 165.
  21. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. xxvii.

Sources[edit]

  • Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16397-1.
  • 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.
  • Layton, Robert (1993) [1965]. Sibelius. (The Master Musicians Series) (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028713222.

External links[edit]

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