Jean Sibelius
The Swan of Tuonela
The Swan of Tuonela (in Finnish: ), Op. 22/2 (originally Op. 22/3), is a single-movement tone poem for cor anglais solo and orchestra written from 1893 to 1895 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Instrumentation#
The Swan of Tuonela is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings): * Soloist: cor anglais * 1 oboes, 1 bass clarinet (in B), and 2 bassoons * 4 horns (in F) and 3 trombones * Timpani and bass drum * Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp The cor anglais is the voice of the swan, and its solo is one of the best known solos in the orchestral literature for that instrument. The string section is divided.
Structure#
The music paints a gossamer, transcendental image of a mystical swan floating through Tuonela, the realm of the dead. , the hero of the epic, has been tasked with killing the sacred swan, but on the way he is shot with a poisoned arrow and dies. In the next part of the story he is restored to life. The piece has the tempo marking of Andante molto sostenuto and is in time. It is in the key of A minor.
Discography#
The British conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of The Swan of Tuonela in 1929 for His Master’s Voice. † = Part of a recording of the entire Lemminkäinen Suite
- Composer
- Jean Sibelius