Kullervo (Sibelius)
Kullervo | |
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(mezzo-soprano) |
Kullervo (sometimes referred to as the Kullervo Symphony),
The piece premiered on 28 April 1892 in
After four additional performances—and increasingly tepid reviews—Sibelius withdrew Kullervo in March 1893, saying he wanted to revise it. He never did, and as his idiom evolved beyond
Kullervo eschews obvious categorization, in part because of Sibelius's indecision. At the premiere, program and score each listed the piece as a symphonic poem; nevertheless, Sibelius referred to Kullervo as a symphony both while composing the piece and again in retirement when reflecting on his career. Today, many commentators prefer to view Kullervo as a choral symphony, due to its deployment of sonata form in the first movement, its thematic unity, and the presence of recurring material across movements. Such a perspective conceptualizes Kullervo as Sibelius's "Symphony No. 0" and thereby expands his completed contributions to the symphonic canon from seven to eight.
Kullervo has been recorded many times, with Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra having made the world premiere studio recording in 1970. A typical performance lasts about 73 minutes,[2] making it the longest composition in Sibelius's œuvre.
History
Premiere
Preparations for a work as massive as Sibelius's Kullervo stretched Helsinki's musical resources to the limit: the copyists labored to write out the parts,
Kullervo premiered on 28 April 1892 at a sold-out concert audience in the Ceremonial Hall of the Imperial Alexander's University of Finland, Sibelius—initially pale and trembling—conducting. The soloists were the Finnish mezzo-soprano Emmy Achté and baritone Abraham Ojanperä.[8] The audience—a mix of the regular concert-going public and patriots there for the nationalist spectacle[8]—received two leaflets: first, a Swedish-language program that described Kullervo as a "symphonic poem" ("symfonisk dikt"); and second, text in Finnish, (with a Swedish translation) from The Kalevala for Movements III and V, as well as a motto that helped it to contextualize the instrumental Movement IV.[10] Notably, this was the first time in history that a concert audience had been given a Finnish-language text.[11] Although the orchestra overpowered Ojanperä and Achté,[8] the performance was a success: enthusiastic applause erupted after each movement and, at the end, Kajanus presented Sibelius with a blue-and-white-ribboned laurel wreath that quoted prophetically lines 615–616 of Runo L of The Kalevala: "That way now will run the future / On the new course, cleared and ready".[12] The next day, Kullervo received its second performance—again under Sibelius's baton—at a matinée concert, and on 30 April, Kajanus conducted the fourth movement at a popular concert that concluded the season.[13][9][c]
Withdrawal and partial suppression
Following the 1892 concerts, Sibelius married Aino on 10 June at the Järnefelt summer home in Tottesund,
In 1915, Sibelius wrote to Kajanus asking that he return the autograph manuscript of Kullervo, which was then the only copy. The impetus for this request was two-fold. First, the composer and scholar Erik Furuhjelm had begun writing a Swedish-language biography in honor of Sibelius's semicentennial; to continue the book, he needed to examine the work that had launched Sibelius's career.[22] Second, an 15 August article about Kajanus in Hufvudstadsbladet had listed a 'Kullervo' among his compositions; having likely forgotten that Kajanus indeed had written a piece called Kullervo's Funeral March in 1880, a paranoid Sibelius "jumped to the conclusion" that Kajanus had appropriated Kullervo as his own.[23][g] Stunningly, Kajanus had mislaid the score following the 1905 concert, and a "nerve-wracking" hunt ensued. When searches of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Institute libraries proved unsuccessful,[22] a "wholly mystif[ied]" Kajanus began to worry that "some crazy manuscript collector [might] have purloined the score".[23] His patience exhausted, Sibelius in his diary entertained the possibility of conspiracy: "Letter from [Kajanus]. He has not taken the slightest care of Kullervo or—this is more likely—one of the orchestral staff who belongs to the clique around him has burnt it".[22] In December, Kajanus located the manuscript in his personal library.[22] Around 1916, Sibelius deposited the manuscript in Helsinki University Library for safekeeping, only to sell it to the Kalevala Society in the early 1920s in order to address his dire financial situation.[31][32][33]
A decade later,
The final time that any movement of Kullervo was performed during Sibelius's lifetime was in 1955 on the composer's ninetieth birthday, when Ole Edgren conducted the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Movement IV.[9] However, in the spring of 1957, just months before his death, Sibelius arranged for bass and orchestra the baritone's concluding monologue—Kullervo's Lament (Kullervon valitus)—from Movement III.[i] By this time Sibelius's hand tremor had become so severe that he could not himself write down the notes; instead, he dictated the orchestration to his son-in-law Jussi Jalas. The impetus for returning to Kullervo had been a request by the Finnish bass-baritone Kim Borg for a song from Sibelius. Borg premiered Kullervo's Lament on 14 June in Helsinki during Sibelius Week, Jalas conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.[37]
Posthumous revival
Sibelius died on 20 September 1957. Nine months later, on 12 June 1958, Kullervo received its first complete performance of the twentieth century at a private concert in University Hall,
Two additional productions of Kullervo are also of historical significance. First, the world premiere of Kullervo outside of Finland was on 19 November 1970 in
Initially, there was some debate as to the propriety of performing a work that Sibelius withdrew, did not revise, and left unpublished.
Instrumentation
Kullervo is scored for soprano,[a] baritone, male choir (tenors and baritones), and orchestra. The choir sings in Movements III and V, while the soloists appear in III only. The orchestra includes the following instruments:[47]
- Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in A and B♭), bass clarinet (in B♭), and 2 bassoons
- Brass: 4 horns (in D, E, and F), 3–4 trumpets (in D, E, and F), 3 trombones, and tuba
- Percussion: timpani, triangle, and cymbals
- Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
Sibelius did not publish Kullervo in his lifetime, and for many decades the score existed only in the autograph original. From 1932–1933, as Finland prepared for the Kalevala's 1935 jubilee, Sibelius had the score copied—for his personal use—by the violinist Viktor Halonen.
Structure
Each of the five movements present a part of Kullervo's life, based on the Kullervo cycle from the Kalevala. Movements one, two, and four are instrumental. The third and fifth contain sung dialogue from the epic poem. The work runs over an hour. Some recent recordings range from 70 to 80 minutes.
- 1. Introduction [Allegro Moderato]
This movement evokes the heroic sweep of the legendary Finnish setting, as well as the character Kullervo, a complex, tragic figure.
- 2. Kullervo's Youth [Grave]
This movement reflects the sombre tone of Runos 31 through 33 of the Kalevala. Kullervo is marked for tragedy from birth, and spends his youth largely in slavery.
- 3. Kullervo And His Sister [Allegro Vivace]
The baritone and mezzo-soprano represent the protagonist and his sister, while the male chorus set the scene and offer commentary. Kullervo encounters three women and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce them, before succeeding with the third, only to realise too late that she is his long-lost sister. When she learns the truth, she leaps into a stream and drowns. Kullervo laments his crime and his sister's death.
- 4. Kullervo Goes To Battle [Alla Marcia]
Kullervo attempts to atone for his crime by seeking death on the battlefield.
- 5. Kullervo's Death [Andante]
An haunting male chorus recount Kullervo's death. He inadvertently comes to the site where he raped his sister, marked by dead grass and bare Earth where nature refuses to renew itself. He addresses his sword, asking if it is willing to drink guilty blood. The sword answers, and Kullervo falls on his sword.
Analysis
Recategorizing Kullervo as a symphony
Sibelius went on to become one of the most important symphonists of the early twentieth century: his seven numbered symphonies, written between 1899 (the Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39) and 1924 (the Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105), are the core of his oeuvre and stalwarts of the concert repertoire. However, the standard cycle is predated by two projects that Sibelius, during the compositional process, referred to as "symphonies". First, in 1891, Sibelius wrote the Overture in E major (JS 145) and Scène de ballet (JS 163), which he had intended as the initial two movements of a symphony before abandoning his plan.[50][51] Second, in 1891 and early 1892, Sibelius continually labeled Kullervo a "symphony" ("symfoni") in letters to Aino Järnefelt, Kajanus, and Wegelius,[52] before settling on "symphonic poem" ("symfonisk dikt") for the April premiere—a title that newspaper advertisements[m] and program shared. Sibelius likely "shrank" from the former classification due both to Kullervo's programmatic nature, as well as its deployment of a hybrid structure in which a "quasi-operatic ... scena" essentially 'interrupts' an up-to-that-point 'normal' work for orchestra.[53]
Nevertheless, in retirement while reflecting on his career, Sibelius returned to describing Kullervo as a symphony.[54] For instance, in 1945 the City of Loviisa requested Sibelius's blessing for a plaque in his honor that included in its description "[here] Jean Sibelius composed his Kullervo Suite". On 27 February, Sibelius sent the following correction: "Kullervo symphony (not suite)" (emphasis and underlining in the original).[52] Presumably, had he still considered the work a symphonic poem, he could have written so. Also, later in life, Sibelius conceded that in fact he had written nine symphonies, Kullervo and the Lemminkäinen Suite (Op. 22) inclusive.[55][56]
The symphonic poem appellation has struck many commentators as ill-fitting; an early example is that, after examining the score in 1915, Furuhjelm re-conceptualized Kullervo as an "epic drama" in two
The three purely orchestral movements ... follow traditional patterns: sonata-form, rondo and scherzo, while in the two choral movements ... Sibelius writes freely in a
durchkomponiert manner as did, say, Lizst in the Dante Symphony. The coexistence of these two formal structures serves to give the work some of its inner tension and its contrast ... Sibelius succeeds in holding these diverse elements together remarkably well: in the finale he recalls themes from earlier movements and so effectively completes the symphonic cycle. Another source of strength is the unit of the thematic substance itself: the main ideas seem to belong to one another.[54]
Similarly, Layton's verdict is that although in Kullervo Sibelius "embraces concepts that, strictly speaking, lie outside the range of the normal classical symphony"—such as Movement III—he does so "without sacrificing [the] essentially organic modes of procedure" that characterize the symphonic process.[53] Goss concurs, writing in the preface to Kullervo's complete edition, "The composer's numerous and unequivocal remarks about the music as well as its specific structural features ... leave little doubt that Kullervo is not just Sibelius's first major symphonic work: it is his first symphony",[52] or as Breitkopf & Härtel have since advertised it, a de facto "Symphony No. 0".
Discography
The Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording in 1970 (1971 release; U.S. distributor: Angel Records SB-3778; U.K. distributor: His Master's Voice SLS 807/2). In an effort to "gain balance" between soloists and orchestra, Berglund—on the "valuable" advice of Jalas—made alterations to the score, correcting what he had perceived to be Sibelius's "impractical orchestration" and "some passages [that were] clumsy or even impossible to play". In Movement III, for example, Berglund swapped out the original orchestration of Kullervo's Lament for Sibelius's 1957 reorchestration, albeit transposed to the original key.[citation needed] Writing for The Musical Times, Hugh Ottaway applauded the recording for its "strong sense of occasion", noting "Berglund's enthusiasm has brought a brilliant, dedicated performance ... [that] could well be a revelation. It is a triumph for all concerned".[60] In 1985, Berglund—now with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra—recorded Kullervo for a second time.
As of February 2021, Kullervo has been recorded twenty times, the most recent of which dates to August 2018 and is by the Finnish conductor
The sortable table below lists all twenty commercially available recordings of Kullervo:
Notes, references, and sources
Notes
- ^ a b c Although Kullervo is scored for a soprano soloist in Movement III, many performances—including the 1892 premiere—instead utilize a mezzo-soprano.
- ^ The Kalevala is a collection of folk poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot. In the original version from 1835 (the Old Kalevala), all of Kullervo's story but his childhood enslavement (then in Runo XIX) is absent. Only with the epic's expansion in 1849, did Lönnrot—who between editions had visited the Karelian isthmus and Ingria and heard many oral poems about Kullervo—enlarge the Kullervo narrative and place it into its own cycle (Runos XXXI–VI).[4][5]
- Fredrick Pacius (Vårt land, 1848), and Martin Wegelius(Daniel Hjort Overture, 1872).
- ^ This article uses the Finnish name for municipalities in Finland; the Swedish name provided parenthetically.
- ^ Sibelius's had not definitively given up on Kullervo, as his diary from January 1910 lists Movements II, IV, and V under the title 'Old Pieces to be Rewritten'.[21]
- Porilaisten marssi by C. F. Kress ), Erkki Melartin (the ballet music from The Sleeping Beauty [Prinsessa Ruusunen], 1904; Siikajoki, 1903), and Selim Palmgren(the Waltz from the Cinderella Suite [Tuhkimo-sarja], 1903).
- ^ Sibelius was the third composer to write music based on Kullervo's story, although each of its predecessors involved the "uneasy marriage of Central European Romanticism to Finnish topics" rather than the development of a genuinely national musical idiom.[24] First, in 1860, Filip von Schantz wrote the Kullervo Overture (Kullervo-alkusoitto), which he had intended as the prelude to an opera; this piece premiered the same year in Helsinki at the opening of the Swedish Theatre.[25] Second, in 1880, Robert Kajanus composed and premiered in Leipzig Kullervo's Funeral March (Kullervon surumarssi); though Wagnerian in its chromaticism, it makes use of the Finnish folk song O Mother, so pitiable and poor! (Voi äiti parka ja raukka!).[26] Additionally, two other Kullervo compositions appeared during Sibelius's lifetime:[27] in 1913, Leevi Madetoja composed and premiered his symphonic poem Kullervo;[28] and in 1917, Armas Launis wrote and premiered his opera Kullervo.[29][30] Neither man—born in 1887 and 1884, respectively—could have known Sibelius's Kullervo, as he had withdrawn it in 1893.
- ^ Georg Schnéevoigt's 1 March 1935 program also included movements from Sibelius's Lemminkäinen Suite (Op. 22), then in its partially-published state: The Swan of Tuonela (published in 1900) and, as manuscripts from 1896, Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island and Lemminkäinen in Tuonela, which had not been heard since 1897. The other composers represented were Yrjö Kilpinen (six orchestral songs sung by Hanna Granfelt), Uuno Klami (three movements from the Kalevala Suite, 1933), and Melartin (A Wedding in Pohjola [Pohjolan häät], 1902).
- ^ In 1892–93, Sibelius arranged Kullervo's Lament for voice and piano, translated into German (Kullervos Wehruf); due to the differences between Finnish and German, he made alterations to the metre of the vocal line. Later in 1917–18, Sibelius used the 1890s German arrangement to make new one in Finnish for voice and piano, changing the metre back to the original. This arrangement was printed in the music magazine Säveletär .[36]
- Finnish Broadcasting Company, although it is unclear whether this is from 12 June or 13 June.
- ^ Sibelius did, however, consent to Downes's 4 October request to have a facsimile of the manuscript mailed to New York, so that he could study Kullervo for a book he was writing on the topic of the composer's development. (Preemptively, he had pledged to keep Kullervo "in the most sacred confidence ... I would promise never to show it to a single conductor or musician ... [and] I would never in any article quote a theme".) In a letter from 9 November, Downes described the anticipated copy as the "most precious gift that I [will] have ever received in music".[46]
- ^ Halonen "like every human copyist ... inevitably introduced his share of mistakes ... and he repeated, rather than corrected, most of the composer's [original] errors". The poor state of the score, Goss argues, explains why, even after Sibelius's death, performances of Kullervo remained rare—except in Finland, where "Finnish conductors ... had access to Sibelius's autograph manuscript and the initiative to create their own parts".[48]
- ^ The newspapers are Päivälehti (in Finnish, headline 'Konsertin'), Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish, headline 'Konsert'), and Nya Pressen (in Swedish, 'Konsert').
- ^ 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.
- ^ P. Berglund–EMI (5 74200 2) 2000
- ^ P. Berglund–EMI (5 65080 2) 1994
- ^ N. Järvi–BIS (CD–313) 1986
- ^ E. Salonen–Sony (SK 52 563) 1993
- ^ L. Segerstam–Chandos (CHAN 9393) 1995
- ^ a b c This orchestra records under its in-house label.
- ^ E. Klas–Sibelius Academy (SACD–7) 1996
- ^ J. Saraste–Finlandia (0630–14906–2) 1996
- ^ J. Panula–Naxos (8.553756) 1996
- ^ C. Davis–RCA (82876–55706–2) 2003
- ^ P. Järvi–Virgin (7243 5 45292 2 1) 1997
- ^ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–1215) 2001
- ^ C. Davis–LSO Live (LSO0074) 200?
- ^ A. Rasilainen–cpo (777 196–2) 2006
- ^ R. Spano–Telarc (CD–80665) 2006
- ^ L. Segerstam–Ondine (ODE 1122–5) 2008
- ^ L. Botstein–ASO (ASO217) 2011
- ^ S. Oramo–BBC Music (BBC MM413) 2017
- ^ O. Vänskä–BIS (SACD–2236) 2020
- ^ T. Dausgaard–Hyperion (CDA68248) 2019
- ^ H. Lintu–Ondine (ODE 1338–5) 2019
References
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 24.
- ^ a b Dahlström 2003, pp. 21–23.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 23.
- ^ Goss 2003, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Magoun, Jr. 1963, p. 362.
- ^ a b Barnett 2000, p. 3.
- ^ a b Barnett 2007, p. 74.
- ^ a b c d e Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d e Barnett 2000, p. 4.
- ^ Goss 2005, pp. xiv, xvii.
- ^ Goss 2005, p. xiv.
- ^ Goss 2005, pp. xv, xvii–xviii.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 120.
- ^ a b Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 121.
- ^ Barnett 2007, p. 75.
- ^ Ekman (1938), p. 115.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, pp. 121–122.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 166.
- ^ Barnett 2007, p. 80.
- ^ Goss 2005, p. xv.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008b, pp. 43–44.
- ^ a b c d Tawaststjerna 2008b, pp. 63–64.
- ^ a b Barnett 2007, p. 253.
- ^ Korhonen 2007, p. 38.
- ^ Goss 2003, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Goss 2003, p. 55.
- ^ Goss 2003, p. 72.
- ^ Korhonen 2007, p. 50.
- ^ Korhonen 2007, p. 58.
- ^ Barnett 2007, p. 291.
- ^ a b c d Väisänen 1958, p. 15.
- ^ Murtomäki 1993, p. 3.
- ^ a b Goss 2007, p. 22.
- ^ Gray 1934, pp. 69–70.
- ^ a b c Katila 1935, p. 7.
- ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 279, 405, 408.
- ^ Barnett 2007, p. 348.
- ^ a b Barnett 2000, p. 5.
- ^ a b c Vuorenjuuri 1958, p. 14.
- ^ a b c Mann 1970, p. 11.
- ^ Greenfield 1970, p. 7.
- ^ Orgill 1979, p. 34.
- ^ Ericson 1979, p. 35.
- ^ Levas 1986, p. xiii.
- ^ Goss 1995, pp. 218–220.
- ^ Goss 1995, pp. 221–225.
- ^ Goss 2005, p. ii.
- ^ a b Goss 2007, p. 24.
- ^ Goss 2007, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, pp. 88–93.
- ^ a b c d Goss 2005, p. xi.
- ^ a b Layton 1996, p. 6.
- ^ a b Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 107.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008a, p. 177.
- ^ Hurwitz 2007, p. 46.
- ^ Johnson 1959, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Hurwitz 2007, p. 45–47, 50.
- ^ Rickards 1997, p. 48.
- ^ Ottaway 1971, p. 975.
Sources
- Books
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300163971.
- Brockway, Wallace; ISBN 0671465104.
- OCLC 6836790.
- OCLC 896231.
- ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
- ISBN 9781555532000.
- Goss, Glenda Dawn, ed. (2005). "Preface". Kullervo. (Urtext from the Complete Edition of Jean Sibelius Works, Series I – Orchestral Works, Volume 1.1–3). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. p. xi–xviii. ISMN9790004211809. PB 5304.
- OCLC 373927.
- ISBN 9781574671490.
- Johnson, Harold (1959). Jean Sibelius (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. OCLC 603128.
- OCLC 4130641.
- ISBN 9789525076615.
- ISBN 9789510136089.
- ISBN 9780674500105.
- Rickards, Guy (1997). Jean Sibelius. (20th-century Composers Series). London: Phaidon. ISBN 9780714835815.
- ISBN 9780837198408.
- ISBN 9780571247721.
- Tawaststjerna, Erik (2008b) [1978/1988; trans. 1997]. Sibelius: Volume III, 1914–1957. Translated by Layton, Robert. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 9780571247745.
- Journals and magazines
- JSTOR 10.1525/ncm.2003.27.1.48.
- Goss, Glenda Dawn (2007). "Jean Sibelius's Choral Symphony Kullervo". The Choral Journal. 47 (8). American Choral Directors Association: 16–26. JSTOR 23557207.
- JSTOR 955066.
- Newspapers
- Ericson, Raymond (15 April 1979). "Milwaukee in Program of Sibelius". The New York Times. No. 44, 188. p. 35. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- Greenfield, Edward (21 November 1970). "Sibelius Premiere at the Festival Hall". The Guardian. p. 7. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- Katila, Evert [in Finnish] (3 March 1935). "Kalevalan 100-vuotismuisto: Arvokkaita juhlatilaisuuksia Helsingissä ja maaseudulla" [The 100th Anniversary of the Kalevala: Expensive Celebrations in Helsinki and the Countryside]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). No. 59. p. 7. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- Mann, William (23 November 1970). "Sibelius: Festival Hall". The Times. No. 58030. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- Orgill, Roxanne (11 March 1979). "Sibelius Epic Not Very Gripping". The Milwaukee Journal. p. 34. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- Väisänen, Armas (13 June 1958). "Lisä Kullervo-sinfonian esitysvaiheisiin" [An Additional Note on the Performances of the Kullervo Symphony]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). No. 157. p. 15. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- Vuorenjuuri, Martti [in Finnish] (13 June 1958). "Kullervo-sinfonia kuninkaan kunniaksi" [Kullervo Symphony in Honor of the King]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). No. 157. p. 14. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- Liner notes
- Barnett, Andrew (2000). Kullervo (PDF) (CD booklet). Osmo Vänskä & Lahti Symphony Orchestra. BIS. p. 3–7. CD–1215. OCLC 1116152375
- OCLC 658830103
- OCLC 36229109