Tapiola (symphonic poem)

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Tapiola (op. 112) is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Jean Sibelius . It was composed in 1926; the playing time is about 18 minutes. It premiered on December 26, 1926 in New York City . The work was commissioned by Walter Damrosch , then conductor of the New York Symphony Society .

Subject

The name is derived from the Finnish forest god Tapio , as the theme of the piece as a whole deals with the forest, its perception and its mythological significance. Above all, it was important to Sibelius that one's own personality be absorbed in the perception of the forest infinity. He wrote a stanza for the work in German, English and French:

The gloomy forests of the north stretch out
Ancient and mysterious in wild dreams;
The great god of the woods dwells in them,
Forest spirits secretly weave in the darkness.

music

The strings are often divided in the piece. The heart of the symphonic poem is a unison phrase in the strings at the beginning of the piece, the few notes of which all move within the framework of a fourth and which only unfolds in seconds. This phrase is then developed and repeated in numerous instrument combinations. In the following, new topics will be derived from this and the starting motif will continue to vary.

The work reaches the climax of the network of flowing and imaginative motifs via a 40 bars ascending crescendo passage of the strings, after which the entire orchestra kicks in. After bubbly passages from the woodwinds and strings, the final section follows, which is based on the basic phrase and ends on an B major chord of the strings.

literature