Classical Music | Baritone

Recorded on 08/03/2011, uploaded on 12/13/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Today, Jean Sibelius’s fame resets almost entirely upon his symphonic and orchestral compositions, despite the numerous smaller chamber, piano, and vocal works that he composed. Furthermore, it is curious that while he is considered the father of Finnish classical music, very few of the plentiful number of songs he composed are actually based on Finnish texts. Instead, many are based on Swedish poetry, the language of Sibelius’s youth.

The seven songs of opus 13 were early efforts by Sibelius in the art of songwriting. Composed during 1891-92, they are contemporaneous with one of Sibelius’s first large-scale compositions, the choral symphonic poem Kullervo. Each of the seven songs is based on text by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who was hailed as the national poet of Finland, yet wrote in the Swedish language. Sibelius would use Runeberg’s texts as the basis for several of his future songs. On the whole, the songs of opus 13 are youthful efforts that fail to make any lasting impression. Nonetheless, the self-critical composer found them worthy of publication, and they are not without their admirable moments. In the third song of the set, “Hjärtats morgon” (“The Heart’s Morning”), the poet compares the first moment of love filling his heart to the sun dispelling the darkness of night at dawn. The vocalist renders Runeberg’s text with a dramatic melody, while the piano provides an extravagant accompaniment of tremolos and full-voiced chords to portray the brilliant imagery of the rising sun.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.