At the time of Jean Sibelius’ birth in 1865, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire, having separated from Sweden in 1809. In general, the Finnish people found the political arrangement to be amicable. That changed in 1899 when Tsar Nicholas II instituted the February Manifesto which subordinated Finnish laws, dissolved the Finnish army, and enforced Russian as the principal language.
This was the environment in which Sibelius composed in 1899 the iconic tone poem, Finlandia. Originally titled Finland Awakes, it concluded a collection of incidental music which accompanied a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history. Sibelius was commissioned to write the music for the November 1899 Press Celebrations, a three-day event outwardly billed as a pension fundraiser for censored Finnish journalists, and in fact a covert political protest. To avoid Russian censorship, the tone poem was performed under alternate titles which included Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring, A Scandinavian Choral March, and (perhaps with a tinge of sarcasm) Impromptu.
Finlandia begins with the instruments of the orchestra separated into distinct choirs. An ominous and defiant brass chorale, accompanied by thunderous timpani, is followed by a plaintive response by the woodwinds. The strings enter with gloomy and enduring stoicism. Soon, a rousing march erupts, evoking a spirited and heroic struggle for independence. But it is Sibelius’ famous and majestic hymn melody which has the last word. As it develops, the melody emerges over the hushed tension of tremolo in the low strings. The melody forms the tone poem’s grand climax, resolved with a reverent plagal cadence.
Years later, Sibelius reflected,
We fought 600 years for our freedom and I am part of the generation which achieved it. Freedom! My Finlandia is the story of this fight. It is the song of our battle, our hymn of victory.
Recordings
- Sibelius: Finlandia, Op. 26, Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra Presto Music
Featured Image: “Birches in Jyväskylä,” photograph by Tiia Monto
Having been married to a Finn, having lived in Suomi for a number of years, having learned to speak Finnish, having been closely connected to the culture for over 40 years, and, being a lifelong classical music lover, I can say that Sibelius’ Finlandia is precious and intimate like few other works. Like Elgar’s Nimrod from his Enigma Variations, Finlandia never fails to make me blubber or tear up with I don’t know what… but you know the feeling. Thanks as always to Tim who never fails to provide short interesting tidbits about a work.
A worthwhile variation of Finlandia are the recordings of it with a male choir singing with the orchestra – magnificent! I have this recording on the BIS label: Sauli Tiilikainen (baritone), Laulun Ystävät Male Choir, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi