Have you ever heard Sibelius speak? I mean, his actual speaking voice? Here’s a rare interview he granted in 1948. Click on the settings cog beneath the video for English translations. Sibelius was two days shy of his 83rd birthday. I imagine he sounds very much like Iku-Torso, the malevolent sea monster of Finnish mythology, who rises from the deep to defend the Sampo in the Kalevala. Clearly, the cigars and vodka have done their work!
No celebration of Sibelius would be complete without a post dedicated to the influence of the “Kalevala.” This disparate collection of long narrative poems, frequently referred to as the Finnish national epic, tells of the creation of the Earth, the loves, antagonisms, and retaliations of its peoples, and the forging, theft, and attempted recovery of a mysterious talisman called the Sampo.
Its fantastic and heroic tales informed the work of Finland’s greatest artists at a time when the country began its surge toward independence, after 700 years of Swedish rule, and another century as a duchy of the Russian Empire. The “Kalevala” resonated with Finns to an extent it may be difficult for foreigners to comprehend. It has inspired holidays, the naming of cities, and innumerable paintings, books, and pieces of music.
Sibelius, fiercely patriotic, was “Kalevala”-crazy. A significant portion of his output was influenced by this fount of Finnish lore – “Four Legends from the Kalevala,” “Kullervo,” “Pohjola’s Daughter,” “Tapiola,” “The Origin of Fire,” and “Kyllikki,” to name a few. Some of the symphonic poems had their roots in a projected opera, “The Building of the Boat,” which was never completed.
I’ve done several radio shows, over the years, programmed around themes from the “Kalevala.” This one, “Epic Finnish,” last aired on January 6, 2019, on “The Lost Chord,” on WWFM – The Classical Network.
The playlist includes “Aino” by Sibelius champion Robert Kajanus, the “Kalevala Suite” by Uuno Klami, and a Sibelius rarity, “A Song for Lemminkäinen.”
I am also appending, as an added bonus, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in Sibelius’ “Pohjola’s Daughter.” I’m a little mixed on Bernstein’s recordings of the symphonies, but here I think he really excels. The performance is a wonder. Steadfast old Väinämöinen, the wizard, attempts to woo the Daughter of the North, whom he espies seated atop a rainbow, weaving a cloth of gold. She agrees to marry him only if he is able to complete a series of impossible tasks. (My favorite is tying an egg into invisible knots!) Unfortunately, Väinämöinen, always unlucky in love, wounds himself grievously with an axe while attempting to construct a boat from fragments of her distaff.
In addition, I know I posted the link recently, on Eugene Ormandy’s birthday, but here it is again. This is, quite simply, one of my favorite Sibelius recordings of all time. Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in “Four Legends from the Kalevala.” Its four movements evoke the swashbuckling Lemminkäinen and his adventures among the maidens of Saari; the Swan of Tuonela gliding through the realm of the dead; the resurrection of Lemminkäinen, treacherously slain; and finally, Lemminkäinen’s homeward journey.
As an encore, Ormandy raises a ruckus, in an even more hair-raising rendition of the finale, from 1940.
Whether it was due to human error or a technical glitch, my “Kalevala” program did not air as announced on December 9. Now that the holidays have (mostly) passed, we can return, like steadfast old Väinämöinen, to the world of Finnish legend and lore for a second shot at claiming the Sampo and maintaining our stoicism in the face of star-crossed love.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll have music inspired by this disparate collection of long narrative poems. “The Kalevala” is frequently referred to as the Finnish national epic. Its fantastic and heroic tales informed the work of Finland’s greatest artists at a time when the country began its surge toward independence after 700 years of Swedish rule and another century as a duchy of the Russian Empire.
Robert Kajanus was Sibelius’ first great champion. He conducted first performances of many of the composer’s major works and led the Helsinki Philharmonic for 50 years. He also wrote over 200 pieces himself. “Aino” was composed in 1885 for the Kalevala Society, to mark the 50th anniversary of the poem’s publication.
One of the Kalevala’s heroes, Väinämöinen the wizard, always seems to be plagued by bad luck. He wins a singing contest, plunging his rival, Joukahainen, into a swamp, but when the latter promises him his sister’s hand in marriage if he will save him from drowning, the sister, Aino, drowns herself rather than submit to this seemingly intolerable fate. She returns to taunt the grieving Väinämöinen in the form of a salmon.
Uuno Klami, one of the most important Finnish composers after Sibelius, brought a degree of French polish back from his studies in Paris, where he fell under the irreverent sway of Les Six. This led to the composition of an unusually anti-heroic take on the “Kalevala” legends, “Lemminkäinen’s Island Adventures.” However, in spite of his occasionally Gallic disposition, Klami grew into one of Finland’s most respected composers. Sibelius recognized his talent and even lobbied for a small lifetime stipend for Klami from the Finnish government.
Unlike Sibelius’ better-known “Four Legends from the Kalevala,” Klami’s “Kalevala Suite” scrupulously avoids the more swashbuckling elements of the epic’s narrative. He opts instead to paint on a much broader canvas, with movements titled “The Creation of the Earth,” “The Sprout of Spring,” “Terhenniemi” (replete with the sounds of nature and the sunny bliss of a summer’s day), “Cradle Song for Lemminkäinen” (Lemminkäinen’s mother’s song, sung over her son’s dead body, soon to be resurrected), and “The Forging of the Sampo” (a kind of talisman everyone seems to want).
Of course, no composer had more success drawing on the Kalevala legends than Jean Sibelius. We’ll conclude the hour with a Sibelius rarity, “A Song for Lemminkäinen,” from 1896. This follows on the heels of the composer’s “Lemminkäinen Suite” (also known as “Four Legends from the Kalevala”), written earlier in the decade.
It’s a second chance to aquire some “Epic Finnish,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
IMAGE: “Väinämöinen Sings Joukahainen into a Fen,” by Joseph Alanen (1885–1920)
Väinämöinen is mocked by a salmon, the Sampo is lost at sea, and the Kalevala program did not air last night on “The Lost Chord.” Alas, I must not have loaded it into the playlist properly. Instead my Hanukkah program aired twice in eight days.
Hang on to your stoicism. Lemminkäinen will return. With Christmas and New Year’s fast approaching, it may not be until 2019. Or it could be this Sunday. Whet your sword and watch this space for omens, auguries and portents.
In a week when Finnish conductors are very much in the news (with announcements that Esa-Pekka Salonen is headed to San Francisco in 2020 and that Osmo Vänskä will be stepping down in Minnesota in 2022), we’ll hear music inspired by movers and shakers of the “Kalevala.”
The “Kalevala,” a disparate collection of long narrative poems culled from the oral tradition, is frequently referred to as the Finnish national epic. Its fantastic and heroic tales informed the work of Finland’s greatest artists at a time when the country began to surge toward independence after 700 years of Swedish rule and an additional century as a duchy of the Russian Empire.
In a nod to Finnish endeavor, this Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear “Aino” by Robert Kajanus. Kajanus was Sibelius’ first great champion, who conducted first performances of many of the composer’s major works and led the Helsinki Philharmonic for 50 years. He also wrote over 200 pieces himself. “Aino” was composed in 1885 for the Kalevala Society, to mark the 50th anniversary of the poem’s publication.
The subject is the wizard Väinämöinen, one of the poems’ heroes, who always seems to be plagued by ill luck. In this particular tale, he wins a singing contest, plunging his rival, Joukahainen, into a swamp. When the latter promises the wizard his sister’s hand in marriage if Väinämöinen will save him from drowning, the sister, Aino, drowns herself rather than submit to this seemingly unbearable fate. She later returns to taunt the grieving Väinämöinen in the form of a salmon.
One of the most important Finnish composers after Sibelius was Uuno Klami. Klami brought a degree of French polish back from his studies in Paris, where he fell under the irreverent sway of Les Six. This led to the composition of an unusually anti-heroic take on the Kalevala legends, “Lemminkäinen’s Island Adventures.” However, in spite of his occasionally Gallic disposition, Klami grew into one of Finland’s most respected composers. Sibelius recognized his talent and even lobbied for a small lifetime income for Klami from the Finnish government.
Klami’s most ambitious Kalevala inspiration is his “Kalevala Suite,” of 1933, which he extensively revised ten years later, when this former “enfant terrible” recognized the importance of his role as an artist in a country at war. Unlike Sibelius’ better-known “Four Legends from the Kalevala,” Klami’s suite scrupulously sidesteps the heroes’ actual adventures. He opts instead to paint on a much broader canvas, with movements titled “The Creation of the Earth,” “The Sprout of Spring,” “Terhenniemi” (replete with the sounds of nature and the sunny bliss of a summer’s day), “Cradle Song for Lemminkäinen” (Lemminkäinen’s mother’s song, sung over his dead body, soon to be resurrected), and “The Forging of the Sampo” (a kind of talisman everyone seems to want).
Of course, no composer had more success drawing on the Kalevala legends than Jean Sibelius. We’ll conclude the hour with a Sibelius rarity, “A Song for Lemminkäinen,” from 1896. This follows on the heels of the composer’s “Lemminkäinen Suite” (also known as “Four Legends from the Kalevala”), written earlier in the decade.
I hope you’ll join me in acquiring some “Epic Finnish,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
