Tag Archives: Jean Sibelius

Sibelius, “Se’n har jag ej frågat mera”

 

 

Posted here is a song by Jean Sibelius: “Se’n har jag ej frågat mera” (Since then I have enquired no further).

The text is by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804-1877). Runeberg was a Finno-Swedish lyric and epic poet. He is the national poet of Finland.

Completed in 1891-1892, this song was included in Sibelius’s Seven Songs, Op. 17. It is performed here beautifully by Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   June 2018

 

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TEXT – Finnish

Se’n har jag ej frågat mera

Varför är så flyktig våren,

varför dröjer sommarn icke?

Så jag tänkte fordom ofta,

frågte, utan svar, av mången.

Se’n den älskade mig svikit,

se’n till köld hans värme blivit,

all hans sommar blivit vinter,

se’n har jag ej frågat mera,

Känt blott djupt uti mitt sinne, att det sköna är förgängligt,

att det ljuva icke dröjer.

 

TEXT – English

 

Since Then I Have Questioned No Further

 

Why is springtime so brief,

Why does summer not tarry?

This before I often wondered,

Asked – without reply – of many.
Since the one I loved betrayed me,
Since to ice his ardour turned,
All his summer turned to winter,
Since then I have questioned no further,
Only felt, deep in my heart,
That the beautiful is transient, The delightful does not last.

Jean Sibelius, “Souvenir”

 

 

Posted here is “Souvenir,” a short piano piece by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was one of the composer’s Eight Pieces for Piano, Op. 99, published in 1922.

I have been trying to listen to some of the piano pieces and songs of Sibelius. I have already posted on this site his awesome work Kullervo, Op. 7, a suite of symphonic movements based on the character of Kullervo in the Finnish epic Kalevala, and (on the same post) incidental music from Sibelius’s Kuolema, Op. 44 and Swanwhite, Op. 54, all of which are posted at

Sibelius, “Kullervo”

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   June 2018

Sibelius, “Kullervo”

 

 

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Kullervo, opus 7, is a suite of symphonic movements with chorus composed by Jean Sibelius. It is based on the character of Kullervo in the Finnish epic Kalevala and uses texts from that work.

Kullervo was first performed in 1892.

Also included here are incidental music from Sibelius’s Kuolema, Op. 44 and Swanwhite, Op. 54.

All the tracks here are from the world permiere recording of Kullervo (1970) by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Berglund and the Helsinki University Chorus.

 

— Roger W. Smith

   June 2018

 

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The recording posted here is from a set of two LP records in my collection. The two LP’s (four sides) contain the following selections (all composed by Sibelius):

 

Side 1

“Kullervo” Symphony, Op. 7:

1st movement: Introduction (Allegro Moderato)

2nd movement: Kullervo’s Youth (Grave)

 

Side 2

“Kullervo” Symphony, Op. 7:

3rd movement: Kullervo And His Sister (Allegro Vivace)

 

Side 3

“Kullervo” Symphony, Op. 7:

4th movement: Kullervo Goes to Battle (A La Marcia)

5th movement: Kullervo’s Death (Andante)

 

Side 4

Kuolema, Op. 44 – Scene with Cranes

Swanwhite, Op. 54 – Incidental Music:

2nd movement: The Harp

3rd movement: The Maiden with The Roses

4th movement: Listen, The Robin Sings

6th movement: Swanwhite and The Prince

 

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LIBRETTO

 

‘Kullervo’ – libretto

 

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addendum:

 

I have also posted here a separate track: “Swanwhite and The Prince,” by a separate orchestra. It was one of my favorites.