Sibelius Edition Vol 7 - Songs

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Label: BIS
Release Date: December 1, 2008

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Featuring ⌄

COMPOSER

SIBELIUS, JEAN
PERFORMER

Helena, Folke, Juntunen, Grasbeck

Product Details ⌄

RELEASE DATE

December 01, 2008
UPC

7318591918202
CATALOG NUMBER

BIS-CD-1918-20
LABEL

BIS
NUMBER OF DISCS

5
GENRE

Vocal

Works ⌄

Serenad, JS 167 (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Medan nordanvinden gnyr (While the North Wind Roars)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Monica Groop, Marko Ylönen
Nacken (The Watersprite), JS 138

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Lasse Poysti, Jaakko Kuusisto, Joel Laakso, Folke Gräsbeck
Da varldar annu skapade ej voro, JS 56

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Marko Ylönen, Folke Gräsbeck
En visa (A Song), JS 71

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Solen slog himlen rod… (The Sun Reddened the Sky)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Orgier (Orgies), JS 143

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Dan Karlström, Folke Gräsbeck
Skogsraet (The Wood Nymph), JS 171

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Hostkvall (Autumn Evening) (fragment)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Flickan gick en vintermogon (The Maiden Went One Winter Morning) (fragment)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Jag kysser dig ej (I Kiss You and Weary Not)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
Lojet var utan hem (Wit Was Without a Home)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
Likhet (Alikeness), JS 120

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Den forsta kyssen (The First Kiss), JS 57

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Tule, tule, kultani (Come, my Sweetheart), JS 211

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Under strandens granar (Under the Fir-Trees)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Kyssens hopp (The Kiss's Hope)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Hjartats morgon (The Heart's Morning)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Varen flyktar hastigt (Spring Flies Speedily)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Drommen (The Dream)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Till Frigga (To Frigga)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 7. Jagargossen (The Young Huntsman)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Se'n har jag ej fragat mera (Since Then I Have Questioned No Further)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Sov in (Go to Sleep)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Fagellek (Play of the Birds)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Vilse (Astray)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. En slanda (A Dragonfly)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Illalle (To Evening)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 7. Lastu lainehilla (Driftwood)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Koskenlaskijan morsiamet (The Rapid-Rider's Brides), Op. 33 (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Kung Kristian II (King Christian II), Op. 27: No. 4. Sangen om korsspindeln (Fool's Song of the Spider) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
Segelfahrt (Sailing), JS 166

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Dan Karlström, Folke Gräsbeck
Souda, souda, sinisorsa (Row, row, duck), JS 180

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Andantino in E-Flat Major, JS 42 (preliminary version of Sav, sav, susa, Op. 36, No. 4)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Svarta rosor (Black Roses)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Men min fagel marks dock icke (But My Bird is Long in Homing)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Bollspelet vid Trianon (Tennis at Trianon)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Sav, sav, susa (Reed, reed, rustle)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Marssnon (The March Snow)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Demanten pa marssnon (The Diamond on the March Snow)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Den forsta kyssen (The First Kiss)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Lasse liten (Little Lasse)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Soluppgang (Sunrise)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Var det en drom? (Was It a Dream?)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Flickan kom ifran sin alsklings mote (The girl returned from meeting her lover)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Jag ville, jag vore i Indialand (I wish I were in India) (alternative version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Hostkvall (Autumn Evening)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 2. Pa verandan vid havet (On a Balcony by the Sea)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 3. I natten (In the Night)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 4. Harpolekaren och hans son (The Harper and his Son)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 5. Jag ville, jag vore i Indialand (I wish I were in India)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
Pelleas and Melisande. JS 147: No. 6. The 3 Blind Sisters (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Lenzgesang (Spring Song)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Sehnsucht (Longing)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Im Feld ein Madchen singt (In the Field a Maid Sings)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Aus banger Brust (From Anxious Heart)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Die stille Stadt (The Silent City)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Rosenlied (Song of the Roses)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Erloschen (Extinguished), JS 73

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Jubal

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 2. Teodora

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Vanskapens blomma (The Flower of Friendship), JS 215 (preliminary version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Alven och snigeln (The River and the Snail)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 2. En blomma stod vid vagen (A Flower in the Path)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 3. Kvarhjulet (The Millwheel)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 4. Maj (May)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 5. Jag ar ett trad (The Tree)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 6. Hertig Magnus (Baron Magnus)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 7. Vanskapens blomma (The Flower of Friendship)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 8. Nacken (The Elf King)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 1. Kom nu hit, Dod (Come away, Death)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 2. Hallila, uti storm och i regn (Hey, ho, the Wind and the Rain)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Langsamt som kvallskyn (Slowly as the Evening Sky)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 2. Vattenplask (Lapping Waters)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 3. Nar jag drommer (When I dream)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 4. Romeo

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 5. Romans (Romance)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 6. Dolce far niente

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 7. Fafang onskan (Idle Wishes)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 8. Vartagen (The Spell of Springtide)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Arioso, Op. 3 (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Nu star jul vid snoig port (Now Christmas stands at the snowy gate)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 2. Nu sa kommer julen (Now Christmas is coming)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 3. Det morknar ute (Outside it is getting dark)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 4. Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt (Give me no splendour, gold or pomp)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 5. On hanget korkeat, nietokset (High are the snowdrifts)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
Luonnotar, Op. 70 (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 3. Kyssen (The Kiss)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 4. Kaiutar (The Echo Nymph)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 5. Der Wanderer und der Bach

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 6. Hundra vagar har min tanke (A Hundred Ways)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
Tanken (The Thought), JS 192

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Monica Groop, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Varfornimmelser (The Coming of Spring)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 2. Langtan heter min arvedel (Vain longings are my heritage)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 3. Dold Forening (Hidden Union)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 4. Och finns det en tanke? (And is there a thought?)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 5. Sangarlon (The Singer's Reward)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 6. I systrar, I broder, I alskande par (Ye sisters, ye brothers, ye loving couples!)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
No. 1. Blasippan (The Anemone)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. De bagge rosorna (The Two Roses)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Vitsippan (The Wood Anemone)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Sippan (The Anemone)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Tornet (The Thorn)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Blommans ode (The Flower's Destiny)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 1. Norden (The North)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 2. Hennes budskap (Her Message)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 3. Morgonen (The Morning)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 4. Fagelfangaren (The Bird-Catcher)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 5. Sommarnatten (Summer Night)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
No. 6. Vem styrde hit din vag? (Who brought you here?)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Kullervo, Op. 7: Kullervon valitus (Kullervo's Lament) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Mummon syntymapaivana (Birthday Song to Grandmother), JS 136

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Autrefois, Op. 96b (version for 2 voices and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Sma flickorna (Little Girls), JS 174

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
Narciss (Narcissus), JS 140

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Siltavahti (The Bridge Guard), JS 170b (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Dan Karlström, Folke Gräsbeck
Belshazzar's Feast, JS 48: No. 2b. The Jewish Girl's Song (version for voice and piano, "Solitude")

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg
Hymn to Thais, the Unforgettable, JS 97

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Love Derwinger
Serenad, JS 167 (preliminary version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 2. Kyssens hopp (The Kiss's Hope)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Jorma Hynninen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 3. Hjartats morgon (The Heart's Morning)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Jorma Hynninen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 5. Drommen (The Dream)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Jorma Hynninen, Folke Gräsbeck
Kullervo, Op. 7: Kullervon Wehruf (Kullervo's Lament) (first version) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Se'n har jag ej fragat mera (Since Then I Questioned No Further)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Folke Gräsbeck
No. 6. Illalle (To Evening)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen
Soluppgang (Sunrise), JS 87 (preliminary version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
Belshazzar's Feast, JS 48: No. 2b. The Jewish Girl's Song (first version) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
6 Songs, Op. 72: No. 6. Hundra vagar (100 Ways) (preliminary version) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
2 Songs, Op. 35: No. 2. Teodora (preliminary version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Folke Gräsbeck
Hymn to Thais, the Unforgettable, JS 97 (first version)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
No. 1. Kom nu hit, dod! (Come Away, Death!)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Juuso Nieminen
No. 2. Hallila, uti storm och i regn (Hey, ho, the Wind and the Rain)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Gabriel Suovanen, Juuso Nieminen
8 Songs, Op. 61: No. 6. Dolce far niente (preliminary version) (version for voice and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Folke Gräsbeck
5 Christmas Songs, Op. 1: No. 5. On hanget korkeat (High are the snowdrifts) (version for 2 voices and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck
Autrefois, Op. 96b: Pastorale (preliminary version) (arr. for 2 voices and piano)

Composer: Jean Sibelius

Performer: Helena Juntunen, Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck

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SIBELIUS Songs (complete) • Helena Juntunen (sop); Anne Sofie von Otter (mez); Monica Groop (mez); Dan Karlström (ten); Gabriel Suovanen (bar); Jorma Hynninen (bar); Bengt Forsberg (pn); Love Derwinger (pn); Folke Gräsbeck (pn) • BIS 1918 (5 CDs: 356:21 Text and Translation)

The foldout box housing this set bears the block letter “I” on its spine, signifying the exact midpoint of BIS’s Sibelius Edition; this is Volume 7, and the arrayed volumes, which also continue to unfold the gorgeous nature photo shown as a wrap-around on each box, now spell out “JEAN SI” on the shelf. As we have come to expect from the Edition, this volume of songs with piano can almost be described as “more than complete.” Sibelius published about 100 songs altogether: 84 in 16 opus-numbered groups, and another 16 or so without opus number. In addition, BIS also includes Sibelius’s own arrangements for voice and piano of a number of works originally written for voice and orchestra, as well as fragments of early songs not completed, unpublished songs recently discovered, and, as an Appendix to the volume (disc 5), alternative or preliminary versions of over a dozen others. The core of the collection consists of the contents of three previously issued BIS CDs: BIS 457 and 757, with von Otter and Forsberg, recorded in 1989 and 1994–95; and, BIS 657, with Groop and Derwinger, recorded in 1994. Almost all of the remaining items were recorded in 2008, and are making their first appearance here.

The great majority of Sibelius’s songs are set to Swedish poems; not only did Sweden have a much greater literary tradition than Finland did, but Swedish was also the composer’s first language. Sibelius’s favorite poet, judging by his choice of texts, was Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a nature poet whom Barnett calls “Finland’s national poet”; about a quarter of the songs are Runeberg settings. Sibelius did not begin writing songs until 1887 or 1888, toward the end of his student years, so this volume does not include the large number of student works and exercises found in the Chamber Music, Piano Music, and Violin and Piano volumes (Vols. 2, 4, and 6, respectively). He tended to write songs sporadically in groups through much of his career: after the initial burst of 1888–92, periods of activity in song composition included the years around the turn of the century, when Sibelius produced the last few of the Seven Songs, op. 17, and all of opp. 36–38, about 20 songs in all, including most of his best-known; and, the years 1908–11, the time of the Fourth Symphony, and a period in which Sibelius endured repeated surgeries resulting from an incorrect diagnosis of throat cancer. The last major group of songs comes from the World War I years, when he and his family faced great financial difficulties and of necessity he wrote mostly miniatures. Among these are the four groups of six songs each, opp. 72 (the first two of which are lost), 86, 88, and 90, his last bearing an opus number.

In all, von Otter sings about half the songs, including the two sets of Runeberg songs, opp. 13 and 90, that form bookends of Sibelius’s “official” song canon. Her warm, rich mezzo suits well many of the “Romantic” songs of opp. 17, 36, and 37, but she is also appropriately animated in the lighter, salonish German songs of op. 50, and in complete control in the op. 3 Arioso , a work of 1911 that Sibelius had to pass off as an early composition when he offered it to a local publisher instead of Breitkopf und Härtel, his usual publisher. BIS gives no word on why von Otter was not entrusted with the remaining items.

Groop, also a mezzo, has a less seductive sound than von Otter; then again, she is given relatively less rewarding repertoire: the Five Christmas Songs , op. 1 (again a misleading opus number), the bleak op. 57 songs of 1909, the extant four from op. 72—a polyglot mixture of the usual Swedish with one Finnish and one German setting—and, probably the finest of the batch, the six songs of op. 86. Most of these are rarely performed, and while I prefer von Otter’s singing, Groop’s performances are certainly more than adequate.

The two singers recently recorded in the remaining sets are a treat. Soprano Juntunen expresses a wide range of moods in the demanding Five Songs , op. 38, the darkest and most ambitious of the turn-of-the-century songs; she also impressively reprises her Volume 1 performance of Luonnotar in Sibelius’s own voice-and-piano arrangement. She shares with baritone Suovanen the Two Songs , op. 35, of 1908, perhaps the most musically radical of Sibelius’s works in this format. Suovanen sings both versions of the two songs from 12th Night , op. 60, the original with guitar and Sibelius’s arrangement with piano, and is most impressive in the Eight Songs , op. 61, of 1910. These are small tone-pictures with elaborate piano parts that do much to set the mostly dark moods; Suovanen easily manages the songs’ difficult tessitura, sometimes bringing to mind the young Fischer-Dieskau. He is also brilliant in Sibelius’s voice-piano version of The Rapids-Rider’s Brides . BIS has introduced other terrific new baritones, notably Tommi Hakala, but Suovanen is definitely one to watch! Tenor Karlström makes only three brief appearances, but acquits himself well; Hynninen, a veteran of the Edition, makes a cameo appearance in the preliminary versions of three of the op. 13 songs.

There should have been an elephant in the room, in the person of Tom Krause, whose complete set of the “canonical” Sibelius songs was issued on a five-LP set by Argo in the early 1980s, and appeared again on Decca CDs in 2004. To my shock, I found that this set is no longer available. Krause, whose musicianship had grown immeasurably since his 1963 single disc of Sibelius songs, would be a formidable rival in a number of these songs, several of which are really better suited to male voice because of the texts; and, the clearly “female” songs in the set were done by the imposing team of Elisabeth Söderström and Vladimir Ashkenazy. If you have, or can find, the Decca, odds are that, like me, you will prefer Krause in some items and von Otter in others.

As in previous volumes, BIS gives an insightful essay by Barnett (in five languages); texts in the original language and English translation; and, the five discs for the price of three. Owners of the Decca set may still want this if they’re really serious about Sibelius’s songs; both sets offer many beauties and many insightful performances. Hard-core Sibelians will want this for the material that is not included in the earlier set—mostly because the manuscripts had not yet come to light. Collectors who have been acquiring volumes of The Sibelius Edition all along need no further urging at this stage.

FANFARE: Richard A. Kaplan