Lemminkäinen Suite

The "Lemminkäinen Suite" (also called the "Four Legends", or "Four Legends from the Kalevala") is a work written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in the early 1890s which forms his opus 22. Originally conceived as a mythological opera, Veneen luominen (The Building of the Boat), on a scale matching those by Richard Wagner, Sibelius later changed his musical goals and the work became an orchestral piece in four movements. The suite is based on the character Lemminkäinen from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.

* "Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island": this is based on Runo 29 ("Conquests" [Elias Lönnrot, "The Kalevala", translated by Keith Bosley. Oxford University Press, Oxford World Classics edition (1989), pp. 401-417.] ), where Lemminkäinen travels to an island and seduces many of the women there, before fleeing the rage of the men on the island.
* "Lemminkäinen in Tuonela": this is based on Runos 14 ("Elk, horse, swan" [Ibid., pp. 155-167.] ) and 15 ("Resurrection" [Ibid., pp.168-186.] ). Lemminkäinen is in Tuonela, the land of the dead, to shoot the Swan of Tuonela to be able to claim the daughter of Louhi, mistress of the Northland, in marriage. However, the blind man of the Northland kills Lemminkäinen, whose body is then tossed in the river and then dismembered. Lemminkäinen's mother learns of his death, travels to Tuonela, recovers his body parts, reassembles him and restores him to life.
* "The Swan of Tuonela": this is the most popular of the four tone poems and often is featured alone from the suite in orchestral programs. It has a prominent English horn solo.
* "Lemminkäinen's Return": the storyline in the score roughly parallels the end of Runo 30 ("Jack Frost" [Ibid., p. 431.] ), where after his adventures in battle, Lemminkäinen journeys home.

The above order of the movements matches their numbering within opus 22, but concert performances almost invariably transpose the order of the middle two movements.

The original versions of "Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island" and "Lemminkäinen's Return" have been recorded by Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (BIS CD-1015).

References