Complete Solo Songs

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SIBELIUS
Complete Solo Songs
Helena Juntunen (soprano) Anne Sofie von Otter, Monica Groop (mezzo-soprano) Dan Karlström (tenor) Gabriel Suovanen, Jorma Hynninen (baritone)

[ BIS Complete Sibelius Edition / 5 CD Box Set ]

Release Date: Monday 1 December 2008

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

"Given the artistry and insight of this splendid partnership, and the interest and beauty of the repertoire, this is a self-recommending issue." Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 (on the Anne Sofie von Otter recording)

"Interest naturally focuses on the rarities.
The Wood Nymph, not to be confused with the melodrama or the tone-poem, is recorded here for the first time. As well as A Song, there are two other early Runeberg settings, the 1888 Serenade and Resemblance, both of them also premiere recordings. 'The Jewish Girl's Song' will be familiar from the incidental music to Belshazzar'sFeast, and is affecting in this form - particularly sung as it is here. Given the artistry and insight of this splendid partnership, and the interest and beauty of the repertoire, this is a self-recommending issue." Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
(on the Anne Sofie von Otter recording)

This box contains a large number of previously unreleased recordings, as well as many world premières on disc. The 236 page booklet contains all song texts in the original language, with English translations.

Sibelius's earliest music was instrumental and it wasn't until he was in his twenties that he turned to the solo song genre. From that time on, however, he wrote songs at regular intervals - more than a hundred in total. They form a substantial part of his output and are treasured highly by admirers of the composer, although only a handful have gained a regular place in the international repertoire. Undoubtedly his choice of predominantly Nordic poetry has contributed to this neglect - in his solo songs he turned overwhelmingly to poetry written in Swedish, his own first language. Given that it is his orchestral music which has earned Sibelius his greatest fame, it is natural that the songs as a whole give an incomplete picture of the composer's mastery. Nevertheless, as Andrew Barnett remarks in his informative liner notes, 'listening to them in their entirety reveals considerable lightness of touch and many a flash of genuine humour. The finest of them certainly reveal his gift for melody and his acute response to nature imagery, especially when setting poems featuring pantheistic imagery.' Many of the songs were written for or premièred by leading Finnish singers. Sibelius's own favourite was the soprano Ida Ekman; another distinguished early interpreter was Aino Ackté, the dedicatee of Luonnotar. It is a fine cast of Finnish singers who perform their compatriot's music on this collection, which also includes the highly acclaimed recordings by the Swedish mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter of some of the best-known songs, including Black Roses, The Diamond on the March Snow and But My Bird is Long in Homing. As for the accompaniments, the lion's share is in the hands of Folke Gräsbeck, an undisputed authority on Sibelius's piano scores and a key contributor to this edition.

Tracks:

CD 1:
1. Serenad, JS167 2'48
2. Medan nordanvinden gnyr [While the North Wind Roars] 1'11
3. Näcken, JS138 3'19
4. Då världar ännu skapade ej voro [When Worlds Still Uncreated Were], JS56 2'23
5. En visa [A Song], JS71 1'25
6. Solen slog himlen röd… [The Sun Reddened the Sky…], 1888, fragment 1'34
7. Orgier [Orgies], JS143 2'17
8. Skogsrået [The Wood-Nymph], JS171 6'40
9. Höstkväll [Autumn Evening], 1888-89, fragment 2'22
10. Flickan gick en vintermorgon [The Maiden Went One Winter Morning], 1890-92, fragment 0'45
11. Jag kysser dig [och ledsnar] ej [I Kiss You and Weary Not], 1889-91 0'54
12. Löjet var utan hem [Wit Was Without a Home], 1890-91 2'25
13. Likhet [Alikeness], JS120 1'40
14. Den första kyssen [The First Kiss], JS57 2'08
15. Tule, tule kultani [Come, Come, My Sweetheart] (folk-song arrangement), JS211 1'14

Seven Runeberg Songs, Op.13 16. 1. Under strandens granar [Under the Fir-Trees] 5'24
17. 2. Kyssens hopp [The Kiss's Hope] 2'10
18. 3. Hjärtats morgon [The Heart's Morning] 2'27
19. 4. Våren flyktar hastigt [Spring Flies Speedily] 1'33
20. 5. Drömmen [The Dream] 1'43
21. 6. Till Frigga [To Frigga] 3'59
22. 7. Jägargossen [The Young Huntsman] 2'44

Seven Songs, Op.17 23. 1. Se'n har jag ej frågat mera [Since Then I Have Questioned No Further] 2'14
24. 2. Sov in! [Go to Sleep!] 1'41
25. 3. Fågellek [Play of the Birds] 1'32
26. 4. Vilse [Astray] 0'52
27. 5. En slända [A Dragonfly] 4'22
28. 6. Illalle [To Evening] 1'15
29. 7. Lastu lainehilla [Driftwood] 1'06

30. Koskenlaskijan morsiamet [The Rapids-Rider's Brides], Op.33 11'31

CD 2:
1. Sången om korsspindeln [Fool's Song of the Spider], Op.27 No.4 3'31
2. Segelfahrt [Sailing], JS166 1'30
3. Souda, souda, sinisorsa [Swim, Duck, Swim], JS180 1'10
4. Andantino in E flat minor [Säv, säv, susa / Sigh, Sigh, Sedges], JS42 2'09

Six Songs, Op.36 5. 1. Svarta rosor [Black Roses] 11'56
6. 2. Men min fågel märks dock icke [But My Bird is Long in Homing] 2'23
7. 3. Bollspelet vid Trianon [Tennis at Trianon] 1'20
8. 4. Säv, säv, susa [Sigh, Sigh, Sedges] 2'33
9. 5. Marssnön [The March Snow] 1'18
10. 6. Demanten på marssnön [The Diamond on the March Snow] 1'57

Five Songs, Op.37 11. 1. Den första kyssen [The First Kiss] 1'52
12. 2. Lasse liten [Little Lasse] 1'59
13. 3. Soluppgång [Sunrise] 2'24
14. 4. Var det en dröm? [Was it a Dream?] 1'58
15. 5. Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte [The Tryst] 2'50

16. Jag ville, jag vore i Indialand [I wish I were in India], 1903-04 2'46

Five Songs, Op.38 17. 1. Höstkväll [Autumn Evening] 4'44
18. 2. På verandan vid havet [On a Balcony by the Sea] 3'36
19. 3. I natten [In the Night] 3'56
20. 4. Harpolekaren och hans son [The Harper and his Son] 3'41
21. 5. Jag ville, jag vore i Indialand [I wish I were in India] 2'58

22. Les trois sœurs aveugles [The Three Blind Sisters], JS147 3'44

Six Songs, Op.50 23. 1. Lenzgesang [Spring Song] 2'23
24. 2. Sehnsucht [Longing] 1'53
25. 3. Im Feld ein Mädchen singt [In the Field a Maid Sings] 3'00
26. 4. Aus banger Brust [From Anxious Heart] 2'17
27. 5. Die stille Stadt [The Silent City] 2'39
28. 6. Rosenlied [Song of the Roses] 1'33

29. Erloschen [Extinguished], JS73 2'46

CD 3:
Two Songs, Op.35
1. 1. Jubal 4'28
2. 2. Teodora 4'16

3. Vänskapens blomma [The Flower of Friendship], JS215 2'54

Eight Songs, Op.57
4. 1. Älven och snigeln [The River and the Snail] 2'46
5. 2. En blomma stod vid vägen [A Flower Stood by the Wayside] 2'06
6. 3. Kvarnhjulet [The Mill-wheel] 2'51
7. 4. Maj [May] 2'35
8. 5. Jag är ett träd [I am a Tree] 2'46
9. 6. Hertig Magnus [Duke Magnus] 3'17
10. 7. Vänskapens blomma [The Flower of Friendship] 2'36
11. 8. Näcken [The Watersprite] 2'10

Two Songs from 'Twelfth Night', Op.60 12. 1.Kom nu hit, död! [Come Away, Death!] 3'17
13. 2. Hållilå, uti storm och i regn [Hey, ho, the Wind and the Rain] 0'59

Eight Songs, Op.61
14. 1. Långsamt som kvällskyn [Slowly as the Evening Sky] 2'11
15. 2. Vattenplask [Lapping Waters] 3'31
16. 3. När jag drömmer [When I Dream] 3'04
17. 4. Romeo 1'42
18. 5. Romans [Romance] 3'43
19. 6. Dolce far niente 1'40
20. 7. Fåfäng önskan [Idle Wishes] 3'12
21. 8. Vårtagen [The Spell of Springtide] 1'54

22. Arioso, Op.3 4'06

Five Christmas Songs, Op.1
23. 1. Nu står jul vid snöig port [Now Christmas Stands at the Snowy Gate] 1'45
24. 2. Nu så kommer julen [Now is Christmas Coming] 2'16
25. 3. Det mörknar ute [Outside it is Growing Dark] 2'46
26. 4. Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt [Give me no Splendour, Gold or Pomp] 3'43
27. 5. On hanget korkeat, nietokset [High are the Snowdrifts] 2'06

CD 4:
1. Luonnotar, Op.70 8'48

Six Songs, Op.72 2. 3. Kyssen [The Kiss] (1915) 2'22
3. 4. Kaiutar [The Echo Nymph] 3'10
4. 5. Der Wanderer und der Bach [The Wanderer and the Brook] 0'47
5. 6. Hundra vägar [A Hundred Ways] 2'03

6. Tanken [The Thought], JS192 1'29

Six Songs, Op.86 7. 1. Vårförnimmelser [The Coming of Spring] 1'12
8. 2. Längtan heter min arvedel [Longing is my Heritage] 3'11
9. 3. Dold förening [Hidden Union] 0'53
10. 4. Och finns det en tanke [And Is There a Thought] 2'15
11. 5. Sångarlön [The Singer's Reward] 1'45
12. 6. I systrar, I bröder, I älskande par! [Ye Sisters, Ye Brothers] 2'01

Six Songs, Op.88 13. 1. Blåsippan [The Blue Anemone] 0'41
14. 2. De bägge rosorna [The Two Roses] 1'12
15. 3. Vitsippan [The Wood Anemone] 1'14
16. 4. Sippan [The Anemone] 0'55
17. 5. Törnet [The Thorn] 2'04
18. 6. Blommans öde [The Flower's Destiny] 1'21

Six Runeberg Songs, Op.90 19. 1. Norden [The North] 2'04
20. 2. Hennes budskap [Her Message] 1'32
21. 3. Morgonen [The Morning] 2'24
22. 4. Fågelfängarn [The Bird Catcher] 1'28
23. 5. Sommarnatten [Summer Night] 2'46
24. 6. Vem styrde hit din väg? [Who Brought You Hither?] 3'02

25. Kullervon valitus [Kullervo's Lament], from Op.7 1'49

26. Mummon syntymäpäivänä [Birthday Song to Grandmother], JS136 1'41

27. Autrefois, Scène pastorale, Op.96b 5'23

28. Små flickorna [Young Girls], JS174 3'09

29. Narciss [Narcissus], JS140 1'45

30. Siltavahti [The Guardian of the Bridge], JS170b 2'24

31. Solitude [Den judiska flickans sång / The Jewish Girl's Song], Op.51 No.2 2'53

32. Hymn to Thaïs, the Unforgettable, JS97 1'53

CD 5:
1. Serenad, JS167 (preliminary version, 1887) 2'53

Seven Runeberg Songs, Op.13 (preliminary versions) 2. 2. Kyssens hopp [The Kiss's Hope], 1892 2'21
3. 3. Hjärtats morgon [The Heart's Morning], 1890 2'25
4. 5. Drömmen [The Dream], 1891 2'02

5. Kullervos Wehruf [Kullervo's Lament], from Op.7 (first version 1892, rev. 1892-93) 2'12

Seven Songs, Op.17 (early draft copies) 6. 1. Se'n har jag ej frågat mera [Since Then I Have Questioned No Further], 1890-92 2'37
7. 6. Illalle [To Evening], 1898 1'50

8. Soluppgång [Sunrise], JS87 (preliminary version 1902) 2'14

9. Judeflickans sång [The Jewish Girl's Song], JS48 No.2b [Op.51 No.2] (first version 1906, rev. c.1907) 2'51

10. Hundra vägar [A Hundred Ways], Op.72 No.6 (preliminary version 1907) 2'13

11. Teodora, Op.35 No.2 (preliminary version 1908) 4'39

12. Hymn to Thaïs, the Unforgettable, JS97 (first version 1909) 2'06

Two Songs from 'Twelfth Night', Op.60 (Original versions for voice and guitar)
13. 1. Kom nu hit, död! [Come Away, Death!] 3'12
14. 2. Hållilå, uti storm och i regn [Hey, ho, the Wind and the Rain] 2'07

15. Dolce far niente, Op.61 No.6 (preliminary version 1910) 1'43

16. On hanget korkeat, nietokset [High are the Snowdrifts], Op.1 No.5 (1901, rev. 1903-05) 2'07

17. Pastorale, extract from 'Autrefois', Op.96b, 1919-20 2'45