Snöfrid
Melodrama by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1900)
Opus29
Text
LanguageSwedish
Composed1900 (1900)
PublisherHansen (1929)[1]
Duration13 mins.[2]
Premiere
Date20 October 1900 (1900-10-20)[2]
LocationHelsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland
ConductorJean Sibelius
Performers

Snöfrid, Op. 29, is a melodrama or "improvisation for narrator, mixed choir and orchestra"[3] by Jean Sibelius. He completed it in 1900 on a text by Viktor Rydberg. It was first performed in Helsinki on 20 October 1900, with the Orchestra of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by the composer.[2]

Instrumentation

A newspaper advertisement (in Swedish) from Hufvudstadsbladet for the premiere of Snöfrid

Snöfrid is scored for the following instruments and voices,[2] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

History

The poem had previously been set in full by Wilhelm Stenhammar (Op. 5) in 1891.[4] Sibelius composed the work in the fall of 1900 on a poem by Viktor Rydberg. He later noted: "I wrote Snöfrid more or less at one sitting after I came home from three days of lively celebrations."[3] The plot on which it is based is inspired by old Scandinavian balladic stories. A female protagonist appeals to her compatriots, in particular a hero, to fight for freedom as a higher goal than fortune, fame and pleasure.[5] Sibelius was inspired by several works by Rydberg, including solo songs and Skogsrået (The Wood Nymph). He liked Rydberg's free verse, expressing both erotic and political ideas.[5] The heroic element possibly appealed to his own battles "with everybody and everything".[6] Sibelius chose dramatic scenes from the poem, such as Snöfrid's "If you choose me, then you choose the tempest."[6] The instrumental prelude depicts a storm at night, with whining strings, howling brass, thundering percussion, but "dominated by melodic and harmonic elements".[6]

The work was first performed in Helsinki on 20 October 1900, with the Orchestra of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by Sibelius.[2] The occasion was a lottery to finance a tour of the orchestra to Paris.[3] An unsigned review in the newspaper Päivälehti noted:

However, the most glorious piece of the whole evening was the last work in the programme, Sibelius's latest composition, a melodrama set to the words of Viktor Rydberg's "Snöfrid". ... This most recent of Sibelius's products marks a concrete advance in every respect, both as regards its warm, harmonious atmosphere and the use of visual arts and choir. The work as a whole makes such a warm, heart-felt impression and feels so lucid and inspired that it is indisputably one of Sibelius's masterpieces. Hopefully it will soon be performed again."[3]

Later Sibelius composed the last movement on a different text, Volter Kilpi's Ylistys taiteelle. This version was first performed on 9 April 1902.[3]

Discography

The Estonian conductor Eri Klas and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus made the world premiere studio recording of the Snöfrid in 1990 for Ondine; the narrator was the Finnish-Swedish actress Stina Rautelin.[2] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

No. Conductor Orchestra Chorus Narrator Rec.[lower-alpha 1] Time[lower-alpha 2] Venue Label Ref.
1 Eri Klas Finnish National Opera Orchestra Finnish National Opera Chorus Stina Rautelin 1990 12:31 Roihuvuori Church Ondine
2 Osmo Vänskä Lahti Symphony Orchestra Jubilate Choir Stina Ekblad 2001 14:15 Sibelius Hall BIS
3 Paavo Järvi Estonian National Symphony Orchestra Estonian National Male Choir Sofia Joons 2002 11:23 Estonia Concert Hall Virgin Classics

A review notes that the "galloping early pages" are reminiscent of the Second Symphony and continues:

It is an unusual piece with two turbulently majestic and sometimes idyllic choral sections framing an episode in which a female narrator speaks as the heroine Snöfrid. The orchestral fabric behind the closely-recorded voice is minimal (a soft dark breathing pulse from the brass) similar in approach to much of the instrumental underpinning in Luonnotar.[7]

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

  1. ↑ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  2. ↑ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
  3. ↑ E. Klas—Ondine (ODE 754-2) 1990
  4. ↑ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1265) 2004
  5. ↑ P. Järvi—Virgin Classics (7243 5 45589 2 4) 2003

References

  1. ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 133.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dahlström 2003, p. 132.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Works for choir and orchestra". Jean Sibelius. Finnish Club of Helsinki. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. Yale University Press. p. . ISBN 9780300111590. Unlike Stenhammar, who had set this poem to music in 1891, Sibelius selected only extracts from the poem.
  5. 1 2 Jackson, Timothy L. (2001). Sibelius Studies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 107, 137–138. ISBN 9780521624169.
  6. 1 2 3 Tawaststjerna, Erik (2012). Sibelius Volume I: 1865–1905. Faber and Faber. p. 214. ISBN 9780571287178.
  7. ↑ Barnett, Rob (2004). "Jean Sibelius (1865−1957)". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.

Further reading

  • Tomi Mäkelä: "Jean Sibelius und seine Zeit" (in German), Laaber-Verlag, Regensburg 2013
  • Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
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