Love and History

 

All in Finland.

In some ways, the music to the first suite of Scènes Historiques could be labelled as incidental music. The three movements were to accompany three different staged tableaus, each set throughout Finnish history for an audience.

The first suite is also the most varied and entertainingly pleasurable for this listener. Mixing warm folksiness with militaristic fanfares inhabits the first two movements. The second movement containing some creepily atmospheric sul ponticellos in the strings opposite grand brassy marches. The third movement is the most exotic, with castanets adding colorful flair to the music.

The second suite of Scènes Historiques is of Sibelius' own conception. It doesn't quite have the same colorful structure as the younger suite, penned some forty opus numbers earlier. Instead, solidly-built drama grows over time, where the composer isn't afraid to dwell among real emotions in the music. Both suites make for light, entertaining listening, although the second suite shows a growth in musical language which is not as youthfully bright-eyed as the first, but rather a mature outlook.

I knew Rakastava as a choral number first, eventually learning the work has many iterations and guises. Here, Sir Alexander Gibson and the Scottish National Orchestra offer the string orchestra version with a couple of percussion parts thrown in. Generally speaking, this three-movement journey through love is gentle and swooning, preferring wafts and whiffs of coquettish young love. As a rather jaded older person, the final goodbye sequence sounds so serious from Sibelius, as to elicit a sly smile from my face.

I really like Valse Lyrique, a piece taken from a set of three short orchestral works under the umbrella of Opus 96. With the sub-60 minute runtime, it would have been nice to have the complete set. As it is, Valse Lyrique is a colorful whirl of a waltz, very much in the vein of the more well-known Valse Triste.

I do not know many recordings of Sibelius' Scènes Historiques, but I find the conductor a fine interpreter of the Finnish composer's ancillary orchestral works in general. This program is a little understated, particularly from Rakastava through the second suite of Scènes Historiques. Plus the runtime isn't overly generous at 53 minutes in length. However, this is good place to hear this music, with excellent playing from the Scottish National Orchestra from the 70s in terrific Chandos sonics.

 

 

 

 

Work
Scènes Historiques: Suite 1, op. 25 (18.48)
Scènes Historiques: Suite 2, op. 66 (18.03)
Rakastava (12.16)
Valse Lyrique (4.19)

Performers
Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Alexander Gibson, conductor

Label: Chandos
Year: 1977; 1985
Total Timing: 53.26

 

 

 

 

I love Alexander Gibson in Sibelius. The Scottish National Orchestra is so eager to explore every nook and cranny from the Finnish composer which the conductor throws at them.

And for an older Chandos recording, this holds up quite nicely. Too bad we didn't get a tad more music on the program. I assume this is due to coming from an LP-based release, reissued onto CD.