The Bard (Sibelius)

The Bard (in

In England, Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra recorded the tone poem in January 1936 for broadcast.^[4] The first public performance in England was given by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1938.

The tone poem itself provides a profound, yet cryptic glimpse of an elegiac, poetic world: an initial, harp-led stillness and reflection are succeeded by elemental, eruptive surges and, finally, a sense of renunciation or maybe death.

Instrumentation

The Bard is scored for the following instruments,^[2] organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

• 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B♭), 1 bass clarinet (in B♭),^[a] and 2 bassoons
• 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in B♭), and 3 trombones
• tam-tam
• harp

Recordings

The piece has been recorded by Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra; recordings available in 2017 include Thomas Beecham and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra,

Notes

References

1. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 292.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Dahlström 2003, p. 291.
3. ISBN 0-19-861459-4
4. ^ Walter Legge: Words and Music, p. 81, at Google Books

• ISBN 3-7651-0333-0
  .

External links

• The Bard (Barden), Op. 64: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

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