Rakastava

Rakastava (The Lover), Op. 14, is a suite by Jean Sibelius. He completed it in 1912, scored for string orchestra, percussion and triangle. He based it on his earlier composition of the same name, a song cycle of four movements for men's chorus a cappella completed in 1894. The works are based on a Finnish text from Book 1 of Kanteletar.

Rakastava
Suite by Jean Sibelius
The composer in 1913
CatalogueOp. 14
Composed1912 (1912)
Movements3
Scoring
Rakastava
Choral composition by Jean Sibelius
Composed
  • 1894 (men's chorus)
  • 1894 (men's chorus and string orchestra)
  • 1898 (mixed chorus)
Movements4
Scoring
  • men's chorus (1894)
  • men's chorus and string orchestra (1894)
  • mixed chorus (1898)

History

Sibelius completed in 1894 Rakastava, a cycle of four songs for men's chorus a cappella on a Finnish text from Book 1 of the collection of Finnish folk poetry Kanteletar.[1][2] He first set it in 1894, as an entry for a local competition. He won the second prize, while the first went to his former teacher.[3] Sibelius arranged the cycle for men's chorus and string orchestra in 1894, and for mixed choir in 1898.[1]

Sibelius used the cycle as the basis for an orchestral suite Rakastava for string orchestra, percussion and triangle, to which he assigned the opus number. 14. He completed it in 1912 when he also wrote his Fourth Symphony.[1][4] Sibelius conducted the Rakastava suite often together with his symphonies to the 1920s, because the piece "captivated audiences".[1]

Music

Structure of the song cycle
  1. Miss' on kussa minun hyväni
  2. Eilaa, eilaa
  3. Hyvää iltaa lintuseni
  4. Käsi kaulaan, lintuseni[1]

Structure of the suite
  1. Rakastava, Andante con moto (common time, F major)
  2. Rakastetun tie (The way of the lover), Allegretto (3
    4    , B♭ major)
  3. Hyvää iltaa ... Jää hyvästi (Good night, farewell), Andantino (common time, F major)[1]

In the first movement, the strings sound light and beautiful. The choral part of the second movement was changed to "murmurs on the strings and wonderfully flexible melodic progressions."[1] The third movement is deeply emotional as its model.[1]

Recordings

The orchestral work was recorded along with other music by Sibelius, including Snöfrid, the Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II, Oma maa (My country) and Andante Festivo.[3] On volume 54 of a complete Sibelius Edition by BIS, Osmo Vänskä conducts the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. A review notes the works "ethereal polyphony" and compares it to the melancholy of the Sixth Symphony.[5]

Literature
  • Tomi Mäkelä: "Jean Sibelius und seine Zeit" (German), Laaber-Verlag, Regensburg 2013
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References
  1. "Other orchestral works / The Lover". Jean Sibelius. Finnish Club of Helsinki. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. "Rakastava (The Lover)". Oxford Dictionary of Music. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. Johnston, Blair. "Rakastava (The Lover), for male chorus (with or without string orchestra), JS 160". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. Dettmer, Roger. "Jean Sibelius / Rakastava (The Lover), suite for string orchestra, triangle & timpani, Op. 14". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. Barnett, Rob (2004). "Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
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