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August 26, 2004

Sibelius's Karelia Suite

When I was 13 or 14, my mother subscribed to a season's worth of tickets to the county philharmonic. I grew up studying classical modern dance with teachers who often chose classical music for practicing or performing, so I had some basic appreciation of the genre, but not much more than your average Top 40-favoring adolescent. During the second of the season's concerts, I listened with eyes drooping from the soothing sounds of the orchestra, which failed to arouse much of my interest. But, during the last piece, I suddenly found myself focusing intensely on the melody played by a mournful English horn. About seven minutes later, the piece ended in an achingly seeking cello theme, and I realized I had tears in my eyes.

This was my introduction to Jean Sibelius; the piece was his tone-poem "The Swan of Tuonela," from Lemminkäinen Suite. For Christmas, I requested a CD of the piece, and thus became quite familiar with his Symphony No. 1 and Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, and less familiar with his second symphony.

While I would name Sibelius as one of my favorite composers, it was not until a few weeks ago that I decided to explore more of his work. I purchased a double CD of Symphonies 1, 4, 5, and 6, and the Karelia Suite, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker and conducted by Herbert von Karajan (it's amazing how cheap even imported, quality classical music can be). I specifically bought this CD because a member of the forums at Objectivism Online compared Sibelius's 5th Symphony to Ayn Rand's description of Richard Halley's "Concerto of Deliverance" in Atlas Shrugged.

My preferred method of "getting to know" classical music is to play it in the background as I go about my business, then, once familiarized with it on a basic level, I return to those sections that I have found the most captivating. This is the method I decided to use for listening to Symphony No. 5, so I have been playing the CD pretty much every time I sit down at the computer for the last few weeks. The first three tracks of this volume are actually Sibelius's Karelia Suite, Op. 11, and just a few days ago, I realized that the Ballade, the hauntingly beautiful second movement, had caught my ear. It begins with a quiet, distinctive melody played low in the horn section, then picked up by the strings, and punctuated by woodwinds. Almost-unceasing cellos play a steady undercurrent, granting the movement a steady momentum through the false ending about halfway through the seven-minute section. After a few moments of near silence, middle-range strings (I'm very bad at identifying instruments) pick up the initial theme. I find it very hard to describe the emotions evoked by this transition, so I'll do it in a way that seems trite, but fairly accurate. It sounds like part of a soundtrack directly following a battle scene—when the heroes look around and see that, while many have died, they, the forces of good, have triumphed. It would be appropriate in Band of Brothers.

The piece continues contemplatively, and about five minutes in, the full string section enters, evoking rejuvenating sunshine. Another false ending, and a single woodwind enters: the voice of the hero. The only disappointing part is the ending, which fades out with little recollection of the quiet grandeur of the rest of the movement. There is a final movement in the Suite that is heroic and joyful, but it is the second that really catches my ear with its dramatic push toward victory won, even at a high cost.

Of course, I am no music expert, and in fact my interpretation is quite different from that in the liner notes, which describes the Ballade as "the singing of a medieval Finnish minstrel with a melancholy singing tune for strings." But, Sibelius has not disappointed me yet, and I would recommend his music to anyone inclined toward the Romantic tradition.

Feel free to leave your classical music suggestions in the comments!

Posted by Carla at August 26, 2004 08:50 PM

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Comments

Yes, Sibelius is definitely a keeper. Try his violin concerto (my CD is the Sibelius packaged with the Beethoven--excellent).

Posted by: Craig Ceely at August 27, 2004 01:39 AM

Are you referring to the Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47? I have that one, and like it very much.

I also have Beethoven's complete symphonies conducted by von Karajan--they're wonderful.

Posted by: Carla at August 27, 2004 04:17 PM

Yes, the Op. 47. Of course that's the one: Sibelius victimized by writing only the one (so did Beethoven, for that matter).

I love the Beethoven symphonies, and the 9th as conducted by Toscanini is white hot.

Posted by: Craig Ceely at August 28, 2004 03:44 PM

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