En saga

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En Saga ("A Sage") is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The work, bearing opus number 9, was written in 1892, but was later heavily revised and is now one of Sibelius's best-known compositions.

Origin, premiere and reception

Sibelius composed En Saga in 1892, immediately after their honeymoon with his wife Aino, which had led to Karelia , the region of origin of the Finnish national epic Kalevala . Robert Kajanus had suggested that Sibelius write a shorter orchestral work after the extensive choral symphonic composition Kullervo, which was a heavy burden on both listener and performer . Unlike Kullervo , which refers directly to the Kalevala epic, En Saga does not follow a predetermined program. Sibelius commented in 1913: “Saga's music reproduces moods and, why not, different phases in a saga, to which every listener can compose a 'content'.” There are indications that parts of a ballet scene no. 2 , and the work was initially conceived as a septet for flute, clarinet and strings.

The work was premiered in Helsinki on February 16, 1893 under the direction of the composer. Since it met with little understanding from the audience and critics, Sibelius decided 9 years later to undertake a fundamental revision in which the structure of the work was concentrated (including a large middle section, which reduced the length from 952 to 810 bars) and the instrumentation has been revised. In this form En Saga was performed again on November 2, 1902 under the direction of Robert Kajanus in Helsinki; Sibelius himself conducted it a little later in Berlin with the Berliner Philharmoniker . As a result, conductors such as Henry Wood and Arturo Toscanini added En Saga to their repertoire, which is still one of Sibelius' most frequently performed works to this day.

In addition to the two versions of En Saga , which were published by Breitkopf & Härtel , there is also a version for piano created by Sibelius. In 2003, an attempt to reconstruct the alleged original septet version by Gregory Barrett premiered.

Instrumentation and structure

The score provides for the following scoring : 2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba , percussion and strings .

En Saga follows the sonata form . From the 1st topic two further, but related topics are derived from which the implementation is then developed. The work closes with a recapitulation that is clearly changed and shortened compared to the exposition. En Saga starts in A minor and ends in E flat minor.

The performance lasts around 17 to 18 minutes.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Letter from J. Sibelius to Gunnar Hauch of April 20, 1913, cited above. in: Tomi Mäkelä: “Poetry in the Air”. Jean Sibelius. Studies on life and work , p. 241
  2. Tomi Mäkelä: "Poetry in the Air". Jean Sibelius. Studies on life and work , p. 242

literature

  • Tomi Mäkelä: “Poetry in the Air”. Jean Sibelius. Studies of life and work . Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden a. a., 2007. ISBN 978-3-7651-0363-6 , pp. 241ff.
  • Wulf Konold (Ed.): Lexicon Orchestermusik Romantik. S-Z . Piper / Schott, Mainz, 1989, ISBN 3-7957-8228-7 , pp. 830-831.

Web links