I. Allegretto
II. Tempo andante ma rubato
III. Vivacissimo; lento e suave
IV. Finale: allegro moderato
Mr. Paul Rosenfeld, who writes about certain modern composers as if he
had summered and wintered with them and been through them with a dark
lantern, finds this symphony of a “pastoral” nature, full of “home
sounds, of cattle.” The music reveals a “pale, evanescent sunlight,” and
through the music sounds “the burden of a lowly tragedy.” This is
entertaining reading, to be sure, but to be charged with these
impressions Mr. Rosenfeld must have heard a tea-table performance of the
symphony. There is almost continually the tragic note in the music, but
the tragedy is hardly “lowly.”
This music is extremely Northern, at times bleak and windswept.
Arresting and impressive music; and lo, suddenly Sibelius drops into
Tchaikovskian mood, and even speaks the self-torturing Russian’s speech.
Yet Sibelius is generally in the foreground, and his speech is generally
his own. It is when he would touch the heart of the public that
Tchaikovsky pushes him aside. There is much of interest in the symphony
besides the peculiar esthetic and racial quality: there are qualities of
the orchestration that hold the attention and excite admiration, as the
long _pizzicato_ figure for the double basses.
* * *
This symphony, composed in 1901-02, was produced at Helsingfors, March
8, 1902, at a concert given by the composer.
According to Georg Schneevoight, an intimate friend of Sibelius, the
composer’s intention was to depict in the first movement the quiet,
pastoral life of the Finns undisturbed by thought of oppression. The
second movement is charged with patriotic feeling, but the thought of a
brutal rule over the people brings with it timidity of soul. The third,
in the nature of a _scherzo_, portrays the awakening of national
feeling, the desire to organize in defense of their rights, while in the
_finale_ hope enters their breasts and there is comfort in the
anticipated coming of a deliverer.
I. _Allegretto_, D major, with various rhythms, that of 6-4
predominating. The movement begins with an accompaniment figure for
strings, which reappears in the course of the development. The quaint
first theme is announced by oboes and clarinets. This theme is worked,
and secondary motives are introduced, to be used again later. A passage
for strings _pizzicato_ leads to a theme given out by flutes, oboes, and
clarinets in octaves; bassoons and brass instruments sustain, and the
strings have the characteristic strumming heard at the beginning. After
the free fantasia a prolonged tremolo of strings leads to the
recapitulation. The quaint first theme appears again in the wood-wind,
but the accompaniment is more elaborate. The second theme is again
announced by wind instruments, and at the end there is the initial
figure of accompaniment.
II. _Tempo andante ma rubato_, D minor, 4-4, 3-8, 4-4. On a roll of
kettledrums, double basses begin _pizzicato_, a figure which is finally
taken up by violoncellos, and serves as an accompaniment for a mournful
theme sung by the bassoons in octaves. The movement becomes more
animated and more dramatic. After a climax _fortississimo, molto
largamente_, the second and expressive theme is sung by some of the
first violins, violas, violoncellos (F sharp major, _andante
sostenuto_), accompanied at first by strings and then by running
passages in flutes and bassoons. This theme, now in wood-wind
instruments, is accompanied by running passages for violins. The first
theme returns in F sharp minor, and is developed to another climax,
after which the second theme enters in D minor, and toward the close
there are hints at the first motive.
III. _Vivacissimo_, B flat major, 6-8. The movement begins with a nimble
theme for violins. There is a short development, and flute and bassoon
announce the second theme, against the rhythm of the first, which
returns against a _tremolo_ of wood-wind instruments supported by brass
and kettledrums. _Lento e suave_, G flat major, 12-4. The oboe has the
theme over sustained chords for bassoons and horns. This section, which
serves here as a trio to a _scherzo_, is short. There is a repetition,
with changes of the opening section. The oboe sounds again the theme of
the trio, and there is a free transition to the _finale_ without any
pause.
IV. _Finale_: _allegro moderato_, D major, 3-2. The movement is
fashioned after the general style of a _rondo_ on a short and simple
theme announced immediately by violins, violas, and violoncellos. There
are less important motives which serve as thematic material, and there
are modifications of tonality and tempo. The movement ends in a sonorous
apotheosis, _molto largamente_.