Höstkväll
- Fazer & Westerlund [fi] (1903; pf.)[1][a]
- Breitkopf & Härtel (1907; orch.)[3]
- Aino Ackté (soprano)
- Oskar Merikanto (pianist)
"Höstkväll" (literal English translation: "Autumn Evening"),[b] Op. 38/1,[c] is an art song for vocal soloist (typically soprano) and piano written in 1903 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the eponymous poem by the Swedish poet Viktor Rydberg,[d] premiered on 12 September 1903 at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki, with the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté as soloist accompanied by the Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto on piano.[1]
In 1904, Sibelius arranged "Höstkväll" for voice and orchestra—along with its catalogue mates, "På verandan vid havet" ("On a Balcony by the Sea", Op. 38/2) and "I natten" ("In the Night", Op. 38/3). This version of the song received its first performance on 14 January 1905 in Paris, with Alfred Cortot conducting; the soloist was the American soprano Minnie Tracey.[3]
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Instrumentation
The orchestrated version of "Höstkväll" is scored for the following instruments and voices,[3] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
- Soprano (or baritone)
- 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, and 1 contrabassoon
- 4 horns and 3 trombones
- Snare drum
- Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Reception
The British musicologist Robert Layton has praised "Höstkväll" as "astonishingly forward-looking"[7] and it is routinely celebrated as being among Sibelius's best songs.
Discography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Portrett_av_Kirsten_Flagstad%2C_ca_1940-45_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Portrett_av_Kirsten_Flagstad%2C_ca_1940-45_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Norwegian conductor Øivin Fjeldstad and the London Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad, made the world premiere studio recording of "Höstkväll" in 1958 for Decca.[3] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings of the version for orchestra:
No. | Soloist | Conductor | Orchestra | Rec.[e] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kirsten Flagstad | Øivin Fjeldstad | London Symphony Orchestra | 1958 | 5:29 | Kingsway Hall | Decca | [f] |
2 | Birgit Nilsson | Bertil Bokstedt [sv] | Vienna Opera Orchestra | 1965 | 5:14 | Sofiensaal | Decca | [g] |
3 | MariAnne Häggander [sv] | Jorma Panula | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | 1984 | 4:29 | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS | [h] |
4 | Karita Mattila | Sakari Oramo | City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra | 2001 | 5:16 | Symphony Hall, Birmingham | Warner Classics | [i] |
† | Helena Juntunen (1) | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | 2005 | 4:55 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | [j] |
5 | Soile Isokoski | Leif Segerstam | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | 2005 | 4:54 | Finlandia Hall | Ondine | [k] |
6 | Marianne Beate Kielland | Petr Popelka | Norwegian Radio Orchestra | 2021 | 4:31 | NRK Radio Concert Hall [no] | LAWO Classics [no] | [l] |
† = version for vocal soloist and string orchestra (1904)
The version of "Höstkväll" for piano accompaniment received its first studio recording in 1967, when the Finnish baritone Tom Krause and the Finnish pianist Pentti Koskimies [fi] recorded it for Decca.[1] The table below includes this and other commercially available recordings:
No. | Soloist | Pianist | Rec.[e] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Krause (1) | Pentti Koskimies [fi] | 1967 | 4:11 | Kingsway Hall | Decca Eloquence | [m] |
2 | Tom Krause (2) | Irwin Gage | 1981 | 4:00 | Kingsway Hall | Decca | [n] |
3 | Tom Krause (3) | Gustav Djupsjöbacka [fi] | 1993 | 3:55 | Järvenpää Hall [fi] | Finlandia | [o] |
4 | Kirsi Tiihonen [fi] | Satu Salminen | 2000 | 4:44 | Martinas Culture Hall [fi] | Naxos | [p] |
5 | Helena Juntunen (2) | Folke Gräsbeck [fi] | 2008 | 4:44 | Kuusankoskitalo [fi] | BIS | [q] |
6 | Hanna Kronqvist | Ilmari Räikkönen | 2013 | 4:34 | Kangasala Church [fi] | NoteStandRecords | [r] |
Notes, references, and sources
Notes
- ^ On 20 July 1905, the Helsinki-based music publisher Fazer & Westerlund [fi] (Helsingfors Nya Musikhandel) sold its Sibelius holdings (the publishing rights and printing plates) to the German firm of Breitkopf & Härtel.[2]
- ^ Because Sibelius's Op. 38/1 song is sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to its native title, rather than the English translation.
- ^ "Höstkväll" is the first of the Op. 38 Five Songs, which is a collection of independent songs rather than a song cycle. The other four songs are as follows: No. 2 På verandan vid havet ("On a Balcony by the Sea", 1903; text by Rydberg), No. 3 I natten ("In the Night", 1903; Rydberg), No. 4 Harpolekaren och hans son ("The Harper and His Son", 1904; Rydberg), and No. 5 Jag ville, jag core i Indialand ("I Wish I were in India", 1904; Gustaf Fröding).[5]
- ^ The Op. 38/1 "Höstkväll" was Sibelius's second attempt at setting the Rydberg's poem. A fragmentary earlier attempt (HUL 1180, 1888–1889), which is extant, dates to the composer's youth and thematically is unrelated to its identically-named successor.[6]
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ K. Flagstad—Decca (00028947888239) 2015
- ^ B. Nilsson—Decca(SXL 6185) 1965
- ^ M. Häggander—BIS (CD–270) 1984
- ^ K. Mattila—Warner Classics (8573 80243–2) 2004
- ^ H. Juntunen—BIS (CD–1565) 2006
- ^ S. Isokoski—Ondine (ODE 1080–5) 2006
- ^ M. Kielland—LAWO Classics (LWC 1239) 2022
- ^ T. Krause—Decca Eloquence (442 9447) 2007
- ^ T. Krause—Decca (00028947886150) 2015
- ^ T. Krause—Finlandia (4509–96871–2) 1994
- ^ K. Tiihonen—Naxos (8.555274 FIN) 2001
- ^ H. Juntunen—BIS (CD–1918/20) 2008
- ^ H. Kronqvist—NoteStandRecords (NS1305) 2013
References
- ^ a b c d e Dahlström 2003, p. 175.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. xxiv.
- ^ a b c d Dahlström 2003, p. 176.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 175–176.
- ^ Layton 1993, pp. 172–174, 219.
- ^ Barnett 2007.
- ^ Layton 1993, p. 172.
Sources
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16397-1.
- 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.
- Layton, Robert (1993) [1965]. Sibelius. (The Master Musicians Series) (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028713222.
External links
- "Höstkvall" ("Autumn Evening"), Op. 38/1: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
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