“The _adagio_ (_andante_) is steeped in his proper pathos, the pathos of
brief, bland summers, of light that falls for a moment, gentle and
mellow, and then dies away. Something like a memory of a girl sitting
amid the simple flowers in the white Northern sunshine haunts the last
few measures.”[45]
“The _andante_ is purest folk melody; and it is strange how we know
this, though we do not know the special tune.”[46]
III. _Allegro_, C major, 3-4. The chief theme of the _scherzo_ may be
said to have the characteristically national humor, which seems to
Southern nations wild and heavily fantastical. The second theme is of a
lighter and more graceful nature. The trio, E major, is of a somewhat
more tranquil nature.
IV. _Finale_ (_quasi una fantasia_), E minor. The _finale_ begins with
the melody of the introduction of the first movement. It is now of an
epic, tragic nature, and not merely melancholy. There are hints in the
lower strings at the chief theme, which at last appears, 2-4, in the
wood-wind. This theme has a continuation which later has much
importance. The prevailing mood of the _finale_ is one of wild and
passionate restlessness, but the second chief theme, _andante assai_, is
a broad, dignified, melodious motive for violins.
“The substratum [of the symphony] is national; in fact, one may say that
if the principal subjects are predominantly Slavonic in character, the
subsidiary ones are often distinctly Finnish, and the atmosphere of
storm and conflict which pervades the entire work is largely the outcome
of a kind of revolt on the part of this thematic rank and file against
their lords and masters. In this way the symphony presents a symbolical
picture of Finnish insurrection against Russian tyranny and oppression.
Not that I would suggest for a moment that the composer had any such
purpose in mind while writing it, but there would be nothing surprising
if there were an unconscious correspondence between the state of mind of
the composer and the position of his unhappy country at the time when
the symphony was conceived, at the very height of the Tsarist
persecution. On the contrary, it would be surprising if there were
not.”[47]