Pohjola's Daughter
| Pohjola's Daughter | |
|---|---|
| Tone poem by Jean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1905) | |
| Native name | Pohjolan tytär |
| Opus | 49 |
| Based on | Kalevala (Runo VIII) |
| Composed | 1903–1906 |
| Publisher | Lienau (1906)[1] |
| Duration | 13 mins.[2] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 29 December 1906[1] |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | Marinsky Theatre Orchestra |
The tone poem Pohjola's Daughter (in Finnish: Pohjolan tytär), Op. 49, was composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1906. Originally, Sibelius intended to title the work Väinämöinen, after the character in the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic). The publisher Robert Lienau insisted on the German title Tochter des Nordens ("Daughter of the North"), which is a literal translation of the work's Finnish title, Pohjolan tytär, traditionally given in English as Pohjola's Daughter. Sibelius then countered with the new title L'aventure d'un héros. He also considered calling the work Luonnotar. However, Lienau's suggestion eventually became the work's published title.[3] (The title Luonnotar was subsequently given to a later piece.) This was the first work that Sibelius wrote directly for a German music publisher. Its first performance was given in Saint Petersburg in December 1906, with the composer himself conducting the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.[4]
The passage in the Kalevala that inspired this work is in the 8th Runo, known in various English translations as "The Wound"[5] or "Väinämöinen and the Maiden of North Farm".[6] The tone poem depicts the "steadfast, old," white-bearded Väinämöinen, who spots the beautiful "daughter of the North (Pohjola)", seated on a rainbow, weaving a cloth of gold while he is riding a sleigh through the dusky landscape. Väinämöinen asks her to join him, but she replies that she will only leave with a man who can perform a number of challenging tasks, such as tying an egg into invisible knots and, most notably, building a boat from fragments of her distaff. Väinämöinen attempts to fulfill these tasks through his own expertise in magic; in many of the tasks he succeeds, but he is eventually thwarted by evil spirits when attempting to build the boat and injures himself with an axe. He gives up, abandons the tasks and continues on his journey alone.
Instrumentation
[edit]Pohjola's Daughter is scored for the following instruments,[2] organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
- 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in B♭), 1 bass clarinet (in B♭), 2 bassoons, and 1 contrabassoon
- 4 horns (in F), 2 cornets (in B♭), 2 trumpets (in B♭), 3 trombones, and tuba
- Timpani
- Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Discography
[edit]The Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus and the London Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of Pohjola's Daughter in June 1932,[1] which appeared on Volume 1 of HMV's The Sibelius Society series (C 507, 1933). Since Kanajus's pioneering example, many conductors have recorded the work, with Sir Colin Davis—in terms of superlatives—having made four recordings (1979, 2000, 2002, and 2005). The table below lists these and other commercially available recordings:
Notes, references, and sources
[edit]- Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ R. Kajanus–Naxos Historical (8.111393) 2012
- ^ S. Koussevitzky–Naxos Historical (8.110168) 2004
- ^ A. Toscanini–Naxos Historical (8.110810) 1998
- ^ P. Monteux–Music & Arts (CD–1192/13) 2006
- ^ A. Boult–SOMM (SOMMCD 093) 2009
- ^ A. Collins–Beulah (3PD8) 1994
- ^ E. Ormandy–Sony Classical (19439757482) 2021
- ^ M. Sargent–EMI (CDE 7 67787 2) 1993
- ^ M. Gould–RCA Red Seal (88985321742–54) 2016
- ^ L. Bernstein–Sony Classical (88875026142) 2015
- ^ J. Barbirolli–EMI Classics (7243 5 67299 2 6) 2000
- ^ H. Stein–Decca (482 3922) 2015
- ^ P. Berglund–EMI Classics (7243 5 69773 2 7) 1997
- ^ E. Ormandy–Sony Classical (88875108582) 2015
- ^ A. Gibson–Chandos (CHAN 8395/6) 1985
- ^ C. Davis–Decca (478 3696) 2012
- ^ G. Rozhdestvensky–Cirrus (CICD 1002) 1986
- ^ N. Järvi–BIS (CD–312) 1986
- ^ E. Salonen–CBS Masterworks (MK 42366) 1987
- ^ K. Schermerhorn–Naxos (8.550103) 1988
- ^ J. Saraste–RCA (19439704812) 2020
- ^ L. Segerstam–Chandos (CHAN 8965) 1991
- ^ V. Sinaisky–Brilliant Classics (BC9212) 2010
- ^ Y. Levi–Telarc (CD–80320) 1993
- ^ N. Järvi–DG (477 6654) 2007
- ^ T. Hannikainen–Ondine (ODE 871–2) 1996
- ^ S. Oramo–Erato (8573–85822–2) 2001
- ^ C. Davis–RCA Red Seal (82876–55706–2) 2003
- ^ P. Sakari–Naxos (8.555299) 2002
- ^ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–1225) 2002
- ^ C. Davis–RCO Live (RCO 12004) 2012
- ^ L. Segerstam–Ondine (ODE 1040–2) 2005
- ^ C. Davis–LSO Live (LSO 0605) 2007
- ^ M. Elder–Hallé (CD HLL 7516) 2013
- ^ J. Saraste–LPO (LPO–0057) 2011
- ^ H. Lintu–Ondine (ODE 1262–5) 2015
- ^ E. Gardner–Chandos (CHSA 5178) 2017
- ^ S. Rouvali–Alpha (ALPHA 645) 2022
- References
- ^ a b c Dahlström 2003, p. 227.
- ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 226.
- ^ Erik W. Tawaststjerna (trans. Robert Layton), Sibelius, Volume II: 1904–1914. Faber and Faber (London, 1986), p. 52.
- ^ Erik W. Tawaststjerna (trans. Robert Layton), Sibelius, Volume II: 1904–1914. Faber and Faber (London, 1986), pp. 53–54.
- ^ Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, translated by Keith Bosley. Oxford University Press, Oxford World Classics edition (1989).
- ^ Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, translated by Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr.. Harvard University Press (1963).
- Sources
- 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.
- Vernon, David (2024). Sun Forest Lake: The Symphonies & Tone Poems of Jean Sibelius. Edinburgh: Candle Row Press. ISBN 978-1739659943.
External links
[edit]- Pohjola's Daughter (Pohjolan tytär), Op. 49: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- On-line biography of Jean Sibelius, "The first years in Ainola 1904–1908".
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