- En Saga
"En saga" (English translation: "A fairy tale" or "A saga") is a
tone poem written by the Finnish composerJean Sibelius in 1892. After hearing Sibelius' choral work "Kullervo ", the conductorRobert Kajanus encouraged Sibelius to compose a purely orchestral work, which turned out finally to be this work. The evolution of this work is somewhat ambiguous, except that in 1890-1891, Sibelius had commenced composition on an octet for strings, flute and clarinet. This work evolved into a septet by September 1892, and had acquired the title "Ballet Scene No. 2" by November of that year. However, a letter to Adolf Paul dated 10 December 1892 stated that Sibelius had finished "the orchestral piece "En saga". [Kari Kilpeläinen, Liner notes to CD recording of "En saga" (original 1892 version), BIS CD-800 (1996)).]The composer himself conducted the first performance on 16 February 1893 in
Helsinki . In the context of an invitation fromFerruccio Busoni in 1902 to conduct the work in Berlin, Sibelius revised the work, and conducted the first performance of the final version in Helsinki on 2 November 1902. [Erik Tawaststjerna (trans. Robert Layton), Sibelius, Volume I: 1865-1905, University of California Press (1976), pp. 129-130.]The title is in Swedish, Sibelius's mother tongue. He did not specify any story in it, although Sibelius did comment that any general literary inspiration was more from the Icelandic "Eddas" rather than the "
Kalevala " (the Finnish national epic) [Ibid., p. 130.] . In his later years, Sibelius recounted to his secretary::"En saga" is the expression of a state of mind. I had undergone a number of painful experiences at the time and in no other work have I revealed myself so completely. It is for this reason that I find all literary explanations quite alien." [Ibid., p. 130.]
The first commercial recording of the original version of "En saga" was with
Osmo Vänskä and theLahti Symphony Orchestra (BIS CD-800). Breitkopf & Härtel published Gregory Barrett's reconstruction of a possible original chamber version, "En Saga Septet," in 2003. (MUSICA RARA MR 2283).References
External links
* [http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/cag4960/index.html Full score] of a number of Sibelius' tone poems, including this piece
* [http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_symbosion.htm On-line biography of Jean Sibelius, "The Symposion years 1892-1897 ".]
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