Six Partsongs

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Six Partsongs
Choral works by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1899)
Opus18
Text
LanguageFinnish
Composed1893 (1893)–1901
Publisherpiecemeal by several firms[1]

The Six Partsongs (sometimes listed as the Six Songs; deprecated title Nine Partsongs or Nine Songs), Op. 18, is a collection of Finnish-language a cappella choral pieces written from 1893 to 1901 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Originally composed for male choir, the composer subsequently arranged Nos. 1, 3–4, and 6 (under the same catalogue number) for mixed choir. The Six Partsongs are as follows:

  • "Sortunut ääni" ("The Broken Voice"), Op. 18/1 (1898–1899, arr. for SATB 1898–1899)[2]
  • "Terve kuu" ("Hail, Moon"), Op. 18/2 (1901)[3]
  • "Venemakta" ("The Boat Journey"), Op. 18/3 (1893, arr. for SATB 1914)[4]
  • "Saarella palaa" ("Fire on the Island"), Op. 18/4 (1895, arr. for SATB 1898)[5]
  • "Metsämiehen laulu" ("The Woodsman's Song"), Op. 18/5 (1899)[3]
  • "Sydämeni laulu" ("Song of My Heart"), Op. 18/6 (1898, arr. for SATB 1904)[6]

The lyrics for Nos. 2–3 come from Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, while Nos. 1 and 4 draw on its companion book of poetry, the Kanteletar; finally, for Nos. 5–6 Sibelius set excerpts from the novel Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) by Aleksis Kivi.[7]

Music[edit]

Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers (1870), verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 5–6
Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 2–3

No. 1: "Sortunut ääni"[edit]

  • 1898–1899 for male choir; arranged for mixed choir in 1898–1899[2]
  • The tempo marking is: Ei liian hitaasti [Not too slowly; Nicht zu langsam].[8]
  • It has a duration of about 1.5 minutes.[8]
  • The text comes from poem No. LVII (57) of the Kanteletar.[8]
  • Version for male choir premiered on 21 April 1899 in Helsinki by Heikki Klemetti [fi] and the YL Male Voice Choir.[8]
  • The male choir version was published by YL.[8]
  • Dahlström does not report the premiere of the version for mixed choir.
  • The mixed choir version was published by K. E. Holm [fi] in 1898 as part of Sävelistö music magazine, edited by Emil Forsström [fi][9]

No. 2: "Terve kuu"[edit]

  • 1901 for male choir[3]
  • The tempo marking is: Reippaasti, musta vakavasti [Briskly, but solemnly; Frisch, aber ernst].[10]
  • It has a duration of about three minutes.[10]
  • The text comes from the Kalevala, Runo XLIX (49) (lines 403–422).[10]
  • Premiered on 30 May 1901 by Klemetti and Suomen Laulu [fi].[10]
  • Published by Fazer & Westerlund [fi] in 1902.[10]
  • Was not arranged for mixed choir.

No. 3: "Venemakta"[edit]

  • 1893 for male choir; arranged for mixed choir in 1914[4]
  • The tempo marking is: Reippaasti [Briskly; Frisch][11]
  • It has a duration of about two minutes.[11]
  • The text comes from the Kalevala, Runo XL (40) (lines 1–16).[11]
  • Version for male choir premiered on 4 April 1893 in Helsinki by Jalmari Hahl [fi] and the YL Male Voice Choir.[11]
  • The male choir version was published by K. E. Holm in 1895.[11]

No. 4: "Saarella palaa"[edit]

  • Op. 18/4 (1895; arranged for mixed choir in 1898)[5]
  • The text is the Kanteletar
  • arr. for SATB

No. 5: "Metsämiehen laulu"[edit]

  • Op. 18/5 (1899)[3]
  • The tempo marking is: Alla marcia
  • The text is from Seven Brothers

No. 6: "Sydämeni laulu"[edit]

  • Op. 18/6 (1898; arranged for mixed choir in 1904)[6]
  • The tempo marking is: Lento assai
  • The text is from Seven Brothers

Partsongs related to Op. 18[edit]

The following three partsongs were at one time listed by Sibelius under the Op. 18 catalogue number but were removed subsequently. The deprecated title of Nine Partsongs, then, refers to their inclusion:

  • "Isanmaalle" ("To the Fatherland"), JS 98 (1899; revised and arranged for mixed choir 1900; revised version arranged for male choir in 1908)[3] ... text by Paavo Cajander
  • "Veljeni vierailla maalla" ("My Brothers Abroad"), JS 217 (1904)[3] ... text by Juhani Aho
  • "Min rastas raataa" ("Busy as a Thrush"), JS 129 (1898)[3] ... for mixed choir only ... text from the Kanteletar

Discography[edit]

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Op. 18 partsongs, as well as the three related partsongs noted above:

No. Ensemble Conductor Partsong runtime[a] Rec.[b] Recording venue Label Ref.
Op. 18/1
Op. 18/2
Op. 18/3
Op. 18/4
Op. 18/5
Op. 18/6
JS 98
JS 129
JS 217
1 YL Male Voice Choir (1) Matti Hyökki [fi] (1) 1:33 3:28 2:00 1:25 1:40 2:38 2:01 — 3:31 1986 German Church, Helsinki [fi] Finlandia
[c]
2 Candomino Choir [fi] Tauno Satomaa [fi] 1:30 — — 1:34 — 2:09 — — — 1987 [Unknown], Espoo Finlandia
[d]
3 Jubilate Choir [fi] (1) Astrid Riska (1) 1:24 — 2:17 1:07 — 2:06 — 1:15 — 1992 Järvenpää Hall [fi] Ondine
[e]
4 Jubilate Choir [fi] (2) Astrid Riska (2) 1:22 — 2:16 1:12 — 2:56 2:19 1:17 — 1996 Danderyds gymnasium [sv] BIS
[f]
5 Tapiola Chamber Choir [fi] Hannu Norjanen 1:25 — 1:51 1:32 — 2:55 2:01 1:22 — 1997 Roihuvuori Church [fi] Finlandia
[g]
6 Accentus Chamber Choir Eric Ericson 1:49 — — — — — 2:11 — — 2001 Church Notre Dame de Liban Naive
[h]
7 YL Male Voice Choir (2) Matti Hyökki [fi] (2) 1:20 3:10 1:34 1:23 1:36 2:12 1:47 — 3:13 2006 New Pavilon [fi], Kauniainen BIS[i]
[j]
8 Polytech Choir Juha Kuivanen [fi] 1:09 2:56 — 1:10 — 2:26 — — — 2007 Riihimäki Garrison Church [fi] PK
[k]
9 Dominante Choir [fi] Seppo Murto [fi] 1:32 — 1:37 1:19 — 3:01 2:03 1:17 — 2010 New Pavilon [fi], Kauniainen BIS
[l]
10 Klemetti Institute Chamber Choir [fi] Heikki Liimola 1:37 — 1:43 — — — — — — 2010 Tampere Hall Alba [fi]
[m]
11 Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Heikki Seppanen 1:23 — 1:44 1:13 — 2:55 2:05 1:10 — 2014 Järvenpää Hall [fi] Ondine
[n]
12 Ensemble Nobiles [de] — 1:46 — — — — 2:32 2:08 — — 2016 Zur Ratte, Leipzig Genuin
[o]

Notes, references, and sources[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
  2. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  3. ^ YL Male Voice Choir–Finlandia (FACD 205 S) 1987
  4. ^ Candomino Choir–Finlandia (FACD 918 S) 1987
  5. ^ Jubilate Choir–Ondine (ODE 805–2) 1993
  6. ^ Jubilate Choir–BIS (CD–825) 1996
  7. ^ Tapiola Chamber Choir–Finlandia (0630–19054–2) 1998
  8. ^ Accentus Chamber Choir–Naive (V4924) 2002
  9. ^ This recording is of the original 1899 version of Isanmaalle, JS 98
  10. ^ YL Male Voice Choir–BIS (CD–1433) 2008
  11. ^ Polytech Choir–PK (PKCD20) 2008
  12. ^ Dominante Choir–BIS (CD–1889) 2012
  13. ^ Klemetti Institute Chamber Choir–Alba (ABCD 329) 2010
  14. ^ Estonian Phil. Chamber Choir–Ondine (ODE 1260–2D) 2015
  15. ^ Ensemble Nobiles–Genuin (GEN 17469) 2017

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 68–77.
  2. ^ a b Barnett 2007, p. 412.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnett 2007, p. 413.
  4. ^ a b Barnett 2007, pp. 411, 414.
  5. ^ a b Barnett 2007, pp. 411–412.
  6. ^ a b Barnett 2007, pp. 412–413.
  7. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 411–414.
  8. ^ a b c d e Dahlström 2003, p. 68.
  9. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 69.
  10. ^ a b c d e Dahlström 2003, p. 70.
  11. ^ a b c d e Dahlström 2003, p. 71.

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.

External links[edit]

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