Six Partsongs

Six Partsongs
Choral works by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1899)
Opus18
Text
LanguageFinnish
Composed1893 (1893)–1901
Publisherpiecemeal by several firms

The Six Partsongs (sometimes listed as the Six Songs; deprecated title Nine Partsongs or Nine Songs), Op. 18, is a collection of Finnish-language a cappella choral pieces written from 1893 to 1901 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Originally composed for male choir, the composer subsequently arranged Nos. 1, 3–4, and 6 (under the same catalogue number) for mixed choir. The Six Partsongs are as follows:

The lyrics for Nos. 2–3 come from Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, while Nos. 1 and 4 draw on its companion book of poetry, the Kanteletar; finally, for Nos. 5–6 Sibelius set excerpts from the novel Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) by Aleksis Kivi.

Music

Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers (1870), verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 5–6
Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 2–3

No. 1: "Sortunut ääni"

No. 2: "Terve kuu"

No. 3: "Venemakta"

No. 4: "Saarella palaa"

No. 5: "Metsämiehen laulu"

No. 6: "Sydämeni laulu"

The following three partsongs were at one time listed by Sibelius under the Op. 18 catalogue number but were removed subsequently. The deprecated title of Nine Partsongs, then, refers to their inclusion:

Discography

External audio
Sung by the YL Male Voice Choir
audio icon No. 1, "Sortunut ääni"
audio icon No. 2, "Terve kuu"
audio icon No. 3, "Venemakta"
audio icon No. 4, "Saarella palaa"
audio icon No. 5, "Metsämiehen laulu"
audio icon No. 6, "Sydämeni laulu"
audio icon JS 98, "Isanmaalle"
audio icon JS 217, "Veljeni vierailla maalla"
External audio
Sung by the Dominante Choir [fi]
audio icon No. 1, "Sortunut ääni"
audio icon No. 3, "Venemakta"
audio icon No. 4, "Saarella palaa"
audio icon No. 6, "Sydämeni laulu"
audio icon JS 98, "Isanmaalle"
audio icon JS 129, "Min rastas raataa"

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Op. 18 partsongs, as well as the three related partsongs noted above:

No. Ensemble Conductor Partsong runtime Rec. Recording venue Label Ref.
Op. 18/1
Op. 18/2
Op. 18/3
Op. 18/4
Op. 18/5
Op. 18/6
JS 98
JS 129
JS 217
1 YL Male Voice Choir (1) Matti Hyökki [fi] (1) 1:33 3:28 2:00 1:25 1:40 2:38 2:01 N/a 3:31 1986 German Church, Helsinki [fi] Finlandia
2 Candomino Choir [fi] Tauno Satomaa [fi] 1:30 N/a N/a 1:34 N/a 2:09 N/a N/a N/a 1987 [Unknown], Espoo Finlandia
3 Jubilate Choir [fi] (1) Astrid Riska (1) 1:24 N/a 2:17 1:07 N/a 2:06 N/a 1:15 N/a 1992 Järvenpää Hall [fi] Ondine
4 Jubilate Choir [fi] (2) Astrid Riska (2) 1:22 N/a 2:16 1:12 N/a 2:56 2:19 1:17 N/a 1996 Danderyds gymnasium [sv] BIS
5 Tapiola Chamber Choir [fi] Hannu Norjanen 1:25 N/a 1:51 1:32 N/a 2:55 2:01 1:22 N/a 1997 Roihuvuori Church [fi] Finlandia
6 Accentus Chamber Choir Eric Ericson 1:49 N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a 2:11 N/a N/a 2001 Church Notre Dame de Liban Naive
7 YL Male Voice Choir (2) Matti Hyökki [fi] (2) 1:20 3:10 1:34 1:23 1:36 2:12 1:47 N/a 3:13 2006 New Pavilon [fi], Kauniainen BIS
8 Polytech Choir Juha Kuivanen [fi] 1:09 2:56 N/a 1:10 N/a 2:26 N/a N/a N/a 2007 Riihimäki Garrison Church [fi] PK
9 Dominante Choir [fi] Seppo Murto [fi] 1:32 N/a 1:37 1:19 N/a 3:01 2:03 1:17 N/a 2010 New Pavilon [fi], Kauniainen BIS
10 Klemetti Institute Chamber Choir [fi] Heikki Liimola 1:37 N/a 1:43 N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a 2010 Tampere Hall Alba [fi]
11 Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Heikki Seppanen 1:23 N/a 1:44 1:13 N/a 2:55 2:05 1:10 N/a 2014 Järvenpää Hall [fi] Ondine
12 Ensemble Nobiles [de] N/a 1:46 N/a N/a N/a N/a 2:32 2:08 N/a N/a 2016 Zur Ratte, Leipzig Genuin

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Dahlström 2003, pp. 68–77.
  2. 1 2 Barnett 2007, p. 412.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barnett 2007, p. 413.
  4. 1 2 Barnett 2007, pp. 411, 414.
  5. 1 2 Barnett 2007, pp. 411–412.
  6. 1 2 Barnett 2007, pp. 412–413.
  7. ↑ Barnett 2007, p. 411–414.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Dahlström 2003, p. 68.
  9. ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 69.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Dahlström 2003, p. 70.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Dahlström 2003, p. 71.

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.