Symphony No. 5 (Sibelius)

The Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op 82 is a great work for orchestra in three movements from Jean Sibelius.

History

Sibelius was commissioned by the Finnish government to write a symphony on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country which has been declared a national holiday. The symphony was originally composed in 1915, revised in 1916 and then again in 1919.

The original version was first performed - after the pattern of the previous symphonies - among Sibelius ' line with the Symphony Orchestra of Helsinki on 8 December 1915 in Helsinki. The second version, of which only a part has received, was first performed by the orchestra of Turun Soitannollinen Seuratt in Turku exactly one year later. The third version, which is usually played today, was re - listed among Sibelius ' line with the Symphony Orchestra of Helsinki on 24 November 1919 in Helsinki first - as at the first performance.

The decade 1910-1920 was characterized by a general change in the symphonic form, as he had received more than a century. 1909, Arnold Schoenberg in his " Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op 16" driven the development of more dissonant and chromatic harmonies. From 1910 to 1912 published three revolutionary Igor Stravinsky ballets: The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were going to develop their new impressionistic music. 1911 was the premiere of Richard Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier instead, which also brought the music to a new style ahead.

And although Sibelius was at that time already for 30 years in the spotlight, he regretted that his last work, his 4th Symphony, first performed in the same year little public recognition learned. James Hepokoski thinks Sibelius had then begun to itself recognized in the competition of the modernizers in music as not equivalent to see.

Sibelius was undecided at this time whether he should change in the direction desired by the audience current Modern his style more or where to go on what was best suited to him. The first version of the Fifth Symphony stayed with his orchestral style of a harmonious sonority, woodwind melodies in parallel lines and a rich melodic development. The structural style but was changed. James Hepokoski calls this change " sonata deformation ". The success of this method is reflected in the popularity that the Fifth Symphony has been preserved until today.

The first version of the Fifth has much by it still contains, together with the more modernist Symphony No. 4 some bitonal passages; the 1919 version, however, acts more goal-oriented and Classical. Sibelius commented on his revisions: "I wanted my symphony another - give shape erdbezogen more, more alive - more humane. "

Instrumentation

The symphony is designed for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings.

Structure

The record layout of the symphony is unusual:

The first movement starts slowly but ends with a fast scherzo. The second set has neither slow nor fast pace, but has rather the shape of a quiet interludes. Then the third set, which starts quickly, but slowly ending follows. The entire symphony lasts about 32 minutes.

First Set

Sibelius had actually planned to compose two separate sets, but then joined the slow introduction to the waltz -like scherzo to a faster unit. The movement begins with a horn call, which already contains much of the musical material.

Although the sentence is written in sonata form, it can be seen structurally in very different ways. Many of Sibelius ' students - Cecil Gray (1935 ), Gerald Abraham (1947 ), Simon Parmet (1955 ), Robert Layton (1965 ) and James Hepokoski (1993 ) - all have very different views on the formal subdivisions of the first set. They argue with the separation in fact two parts, with the presence of actually two exposures, they differ in the description of the Scherzo and Trio and about the exact start of the recapitulation and the coda.

Different analytical perspectives

Cecil Gray, the first musicologist who has studied the structure of the Fifth Symphony of Sibelius, the sonata form mentioned at all in his discussion and deals with the two different musical subjects, which so sounds as if he would automatically assume if it were a sonata form.

Gerald Abraham is one of the first who explained the work in terms of the Sonata and clearly outlining where he believes begins after each section and why. He argues that the work begins with a double exposure, each, then moving on with a clearly pronounced A- and B- group material in the execution of this material. He describes the exact melodic section that begins with the Allegro moderato, which are handled as scherzo and trio as a substitute for the second half of the development.

Robert Layton in any case contrary to Abraham and claims that the scherzo is the beginning of the recapitulation.

Most musicologists agreed with this analysis agreed to James Hepokoskis investigations published in 1993 ( '' Sibelius: . Symphony No. 5''), who offered a very different interpretation. He stated that the symphony could ever be described only in terms of something that he so called "rotational form" rotational molding. Although he remains at the usual division of the sentence in double exposure, Scherzo and recapitulation, but he has developed a new vocabulary to describe the musical development. Hepokoski shows how Sibelius allows the musical material in many of his works, itself to select a shape, namely from the necessity of music out for yourself, not by preformed standards of the 18th or 19th century. From that time forth Sibelius uses a circular form of rotation or verse, which runs through the various departments of the material, all the while evolving themselves. So Hepokoski remains in its analysis in the general location of the musical turns as they have described earlier authors, and agrees with them that the first sentence can be described in principle in terms of a sonata form.

Second sentence

This peaceful movement is characterized by several variations on a theme that is first presented by the strings in pizzicato and then taken up by the flutes. Together with the woodwinds, the mood of the music is lovely and warm.

Third set

The set begins with a fast, played in tremolo melody in the strings. After completing this topic, a new dominant theme begins in the horns, which is said that it had been inspired by the sound of Schwanenrufs, Sibelius has heard on one occasion, at the same time as 16 recordings of them to flight. Then lets Sibelius flutes and strings play one of his most famous tunes. Both the melody and the real motive, to be further developed, the subject returns majestically in the initial key to the final section. The symphony ends with one of Sibelius ' most original ideas: the six chords of the final cadence are played individually, each separated by a short break.

The Symphony in popular culture

The motif Schwanenruf has been included in a number of pop songs, such as " Popsicles and Icicles " by the Murmaids (1963 ), " Beach Baby " by The First Class (1974 ), " Since Yesterday " by Strawberry Switchblade (1984 ) and " Oh What A Life" by People Play (2008). The beginning of the first sentence is quoted at the beginning of John Coltrane 's A Love Supreme. It is believed that Coltrane did not directly Sibelius quoted, but rather Leonard Bernstein 's musical On the Town, but this in turn cites the symphony.

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