Songs for Mixed Chorus from the 1897 Promotional Cantata
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Songs for Mixed Chorus from the 1897 Promotional Cantata (in Finnish: Lauluja sekaköörille 1897 vuoden promotiooni kantaatista; sometimes abbreviated as the Nine Songs), Op. 23, is a song cycle of a cappella pieces for soprano, baritone, and mixed choir a cappella arranged in 1898 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Sung in Finnish to words by the poet A. V. Koskimies, the songs were originally part of a larger orchestral work: the Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1897 (Kantaatti tohtorinja maisterinvihkijäisissä 1897), JS 106. It is chronologically the third of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas, and belongs to a series of three such pieces—along with the Promotional Cantata of 1894 (JS 105) and the Coronation Cantata (JS 104, 1896)—that he wrote on commission from his employer at the time, the Imperial Alexander University (today the University of Helsinki). The complete score, however, is lost, although—in addition to the Op. 23 songs—some orchestral parts, as well as a rehearsal score with piano accompaniment, are extant.
Performance history
The Songs for Mixed Chorus were performed for the first time in their entirety on 30 April 1904, in Viipuri, with the choral master and deputy judge Emil Forsström directing a group of thirty singers drawn from the area; the soloists were Ellen Relander and Edvard Ekström. The concert was at the Town Hall and had been organized by the Viipuri Friends of Music to raise funds for the local orchestra.
Structure
The ten constituent songs in the cycle are as follows:
"March-like" (Marssin tapaan); "We the youth of Finland ..." ("Me nuoriso Suomen ...")
"Not too leisurely" (Ei lüan verkalleen); "The wind rocks ..." ("Tuuli tuudittele ...")
"Lightly" (Keveästi); "Oh hope, hope, you dreamer ..." ("Oi toivo, toivo, sä lietomieli ...")
"Quickly" (Nopeean); "Many on the sea of life ..." ("Montapa elon merellä ...")
"Leisurely" (Verkalleen); "The fading thoughts of the Earth ..." ("Sammuva sainio maan ...")
"Briskly" (Reippaasti); "O love, your realm is limitless ..." ("Oi Lempi, sun valtas ääretön on ...")
"March-like" (Marssin tapaan); "As the swift current ..." ("Kun virta vuolas ...")
"Festively" (Juhlallisesti); "O precious Finland, Mother beyond compare ..." ("Oi kallis Suomi, äiti verraton ...")
Several of the song cycle's numbers, especially Nos. 1, 6a, and 6b, remain popular in Finland.
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