Premieres

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  • Haupt's septet performed the Andantino (and perhaps, too, the Minuetto, although definitive evidence is lacking) during the town's Runeberg Day celebrations on 5 February 1891.[1]
  • Larkin: The Andantino and Menuetto were premiered in Loviisa on 5 February 1891 and the Praeludium in the summer of that year. That same summer, the first song festival for Finland's Swedish-speakers was organized in the town of Ekenäs by the Svenka Folkskolans Vänner (Friends of the Swedish Elementary School). Haupt's septet gave the Andantino-Menuetto and took the First Prize, an ivory baton and a silver lyre. (p. 10)
  • Hautala: However, it is unclear whether the Petite Suite in its entirety or the Overture were ever performed in public during Sibelius's lifetime. Only the Andantino movement is known to have been performed in 1891 at the Tammisaari music festival, where it was played by the Loviisa brass septet. (p. 10)
  • Barnett (Jarvi rec.): Tiera was first performed at a concert to boost morale before the Helsinki Orchestra's trip to the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. (p. 8)
  • Solna: Tiera was first performed when the Helsinki Philharmonic visited Paris in 1900. (p. 5)
  • Solna: The Prelude was first performed by the Lovisa Fire Brigade Band in the summer of 1891 and conducted by Haupt. Andantin0-Menuetto was first performed as a separate piece by Lovisa Hornkapell in February 1891. Sibelius did adjudicate a brass band competition in 1894 in which the Andantino was the testpiece. (p. 5)
  • Solna: The Overture has not been performed. The parts was wrongly written out and unplayable. It is in one movement but three parts can be separated. Lento - Allegro molto - Tempo di polacca. (p. 5)
  • Solna: The Allegro was recently found by Fransman. First performance by Solna Brass in 1990.
  • From newspaper: "Helsinki Song Festival. A print has been published by the Kansanwalistusseura, "Collection of Torwisäwelmien Partituuri Kansanwalistus-seura". The second volume of the second series II. The booklet contains two tunes for Torwiseptet, Järnefelt's 'Aamulla warhain' and Sibelius' 'Tiera', which were performed at the first song festival in the summer. Price 2 marks."
  • From newspaper: "Invitation To the general singing and playing festival of the Folk Education Society in Helsinki in June 1900. From the side of those involved in the art of singing and music, it has often been recommended that a general singing and playing festival be held in Helsinki to mark the launch of the Society, so that a general attendance from both the art enthusiasts and the public would be assured. To carry out this wish, a committee has now been formed in Helsinki, which has taken on the important practical tasks required for the success of the festival. The Society for Popular Education is therefore pleased to invite the singing and instrumental societies of our country and all lovers of the national musical arts to a general singing and instrumental festival, which will be held in Helsinki next June 18-20, 1900. The century that is now drawing to a close has been a rich one for our people. Let us bid it farewell with enthusiastic, patriotic singing, inspiring courage and hope."
    • Program then is listed: Tiera by Sibelius, as well as "Early in the Morning" by Järnefelt consistute the two pieces for septet. Just after them is Pacius's Maamme laulu, and just before the pieces was Sibelius choral song Isänmaalle. (mixed choir)
  • From newspaper: "Kevät festival at Kärsämäki field in Maarja on 4 and 5 June [1890] next ... b) bands alone Tiera — Sibelius. In the morning warhain — Järnefelt. Hymn: Ye heavens stab Beethoven."
  • From newspaper: "The W. P. K. Wind Orchestra of Joensuu [in Northern Karelia] will give a concert of 1 easy-to-understand piece on Thursday 25 p. according to the following programme: 1. Overture op. The first movement is the opening movement of "Der Zauberer", säw. Ebel. 2. "Summer Evening", waltz, säw. 3. "In the morning warhain", (new) säw. Järnefelt. 4. Potpourri op. "Martha", sa. Flotow. 5. Uwertyri "Französische Lustpiel, säw. Keler-Bela. 6. "Rewe du Ball", walsintermezzo, (new) säw. Eilenberg. 7. Kajanus. 8. Kahra. 9. "Helena", Polonaise, säw. Leander. 10. Sibelius. 11. "Gute Nacht, du mein herziges Kind", säw. Abt. 12. "Husari", march (new), säw. Schäffer." May 25 1900

Overture (JS 146)

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The Overture in F minor, marked Allegro, is in 4
4
time and has a duration of about 11 minutes.[2]

Barnett: "which is his longest and most thoroughly worked-out work for brass ensemble. After an imposing Lento introduction Sibelius delights in writing sparkling, witty and often agile themes. Apart from ensuring that the writing does not exceed the instruments' practical capabilities, he does not adapt his compositional style when writing for brass rather than / string instruments; indeed, some passages could easily and effectively be performed by a string ensemble".[3]

Allegro (JS 25)

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The Allegro in G minor is in 3
4
time and has a duration of about five minutes.[4]

Sibelius composed the Allegro for brass septet for a competition soliciting a "fantasy" on Finnish folk songs, and he utilized two Finnish such melodies: Hevonen kuin koirasteeri and Tuomi on virran reunalla.[5]

Andantino and Minuetto (JS 45)

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The Andantino and Minuetto are each in 3
4
time; together, they have a duration of about five minutes.[6] Both pieces have three flats (so is it E-flat major or C minor?)

The Preludium (JS 83, also called Förspel) and Andantino – Minuet (JS 25) have been recorded as—and possibly were intended by Sibelius to be—a three-movement 'Petite Suite for Brass Septet'.

Preludium (JS 83)

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The Preludium is in 4
4
time and has a duration of about five minutes.[7] The piece has three flats (so is it E-flat major or C minor?)

Tiera (JS 200)

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The Tiera, marked Non troppo lento – Alla marcia, is in 4
4
time and has a duration of about four minutes.[8] The piece has three flats (so is it E-flat major or C minor?)

Context and analysis

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The torviseitsikko was quite popular from the 1870s to the 1910s; many were organized not only for military battalions, but also by volunteer fire brigades (VPK), factories, and other municipal clubs and associations.[9]

Armas Järnefelt[a]

Leevi Madetoja[b]

Toivo Kuula[c]

Oskar Merikanto

Robert Kajanus[d]

Discography

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No. Conductor Orchestra Runtimes[e] Rec.[f] Recording venue Label Ref.
Op 109/1
Op 109/2
Op 109/3
. Neeme Järvi Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra 4:50 19:04 16:29 1989 Gothenburg Concert Hall BIS
. Leif Segerstam Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra 23:11 17:50 1998 Hyvinkääsali [fi] Ondine
. Michael Stern Kansas City Symphony 5:37 20:02 14:25 2008 Community of Christ Auditorium, Independence, MO Reference Recordings
. Petri Sakari [fi] Iceland Symphony Orchestra 23:06 18:10 1997/2000 Háskólabíó [is], Reykjavik Naxos
. [[]] [[]] ttt ttt ttt yyyy vvvv llll
. [[]] [[]] ttt ttt ttt yyyy vvvv llll
. [[]] [[]] ttt ttt ttt yyyy vvvv llll
. [[]] [[]] ttt ttt ttt yyyy vvvv llll

Notes, references, and sources

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Notes
  1. ^ Armas Järnefelt wrote four original compositions for torviseitsikko: Virran rannalla (By the Stream, 1896), Kesäyö (Summer Night, 1898), Aamulla varhain (Early in the Morning, 1900), and Topografikunnan marssi (March of the Topography Corps, 1932).[10]
  2. ^ Leevi Madetoja wrote four original compositions for torviseitsikko: Intermezzo (Op. 67/1, 1912), Barcarola (Op. 67/2, 1929), and Tanssilaulu (Dance Song, Op. 67/2, 1929), as well as the Alkusoitto-fantasia (Overture Fantasy, Op. 69, 1930). Three additional compositions by Madetoja are for brass septet and male choir, set to words by the Finnish poet Eino Leino: Pellervon laulu (Pellervo's Song, Op. 42/1, 1913), Kansan valta (Power of the People, Op. 42/3, 1913), and Mies mieheltä (Man by Man, Op. 42/5, 1919).
  3. ^ Toivo Kuala wrote two original compositions for torviseitsikko (each includes percussion): Vuorella (On the Mountain, Op. 28/1, 1913) and Soitto (Tune, Op. 28/2, 1914).[11]
  4. ^ Robert Kajanus wrote one original composition for torviseitsikko: Sortavalan suojeluskuntapiirin kunniamarssi (Honor March of Sortavala Protection District, 1926); moreover, the Hymni (Hymn, yyyy) is for torviseitsikko and mixed chorus, with text by Eino Leino.
  5. ^ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
  6. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  7. ^ Gothenburg SO–BIS (CD–448) 1989
  8. ^ L. Segerstam–Ondine (ODE 914–2) 1998
  9. ^ M. Stern–Reference Recordings(RR–115) 2008
  10. ^ [ P. Sakari–Naxos () yyyy]
  11. ^ [ N. Name–Label () yyyy]
  12. ^ [ N. Name–Label () yyyy]
  13. ^ [ N. Name–Label () yyyy]
  14. ^ [ N. Name–Label () yyyy]
References
  1. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 61.
  2. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 588.
  3. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 50–51.
  4. ^ Dahlström 2003.
  5. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 54.
  6. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 515.
  7. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 544.
  8. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 630.
  9. ^ Karjalainen 1997, pp. 87–88.
  10. ^ Poroila 2012, pp. 7, 9, 17–18.
  11. ^ Poroila 2013, p. 13.
Sources
Books
  • Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
  • Dahlström, Fabian [in Finnish] (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.
  • Holmes, Michael (2010). "Jean Sibelius's Works for torviseitsikko and the Brass Septet Tradition in Finland". In Jackson, Timothy; Murtomäki, Veijo [in Finnish]; Davis, Colin; Virtanen, Timo (eds.). Sibelius in the Old and New World: Aspects of His Music, Its Interpretation, and Reception. Frankfurt am Main; New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-56025-9.
Liner notes
  • Bruggaier, Johannes; Schinker, Nils (1999). Playground for Angels: Nordic Music for Brass – Rautavaara / Sibelius / Grieg / Nystedt (CD booklet). Translated by Barnett, Andrew. Hermann Bäuer & Brass Partout. BIS. CD–1054.
  • Hautala, Harri (1994). Charm & Passion of Youth: Early Works for Brass – Sibelius / Meriläinen / Rautavaara (CD booklet). Jukka-Pekka Saraste & Finnish Brass Ensemble. Alba. ABCD 102.
Journals and magazines
  • Karjalainen, Kauko (1997). "The Brass Band Tradition in Finland" (PDF). Historic Brass Society Journal. 9: 83–96. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  • Larkin, Christopher (1991). Original 19th Century Music for Brass: Cherubini / Beethoven / Dvorák / Lachner / David / Sibelius / Rimsky-Korsakov (CD booklet). Christopher Larkin & London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble. Hyperion. CDA66470.
Websites


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