Finlandia

"Finlandia, Op. 26" is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The first version was written in 1899, and it was revised in 1900. The piece was composed for a patriotic pageant performed to mobilise popular opposition to the revocation of Finnish independence from the government of the Russian Empire (see Grand Duchy of Finland for further historical context).

A typical performance takes about seven and a half minutes.

A recurrent joke within Finland at this time was the renaming of "Finlandia" at various musical concerts so as to avoid Russian censorship. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous, a famously flippant example being "Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring".

Most of the piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people. But towards the end, a calm comes over the orchestra, and the serenely melodic "Finlandia Hymn" is heard. Often incorrectly cited as a traditional folk melody, the Hymn section is of Sibelius' own creation.Dubal, David. "The Essential Canon of Classical Music", p. 466. New York: North Point Press, 2001.

Sibelius later reworked the "Finlandia Hymn" into a stand-alone piece. This hymn, with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, is one of the most important national songs of Finland (though "Maamme" is the national anthem). With different words, it is also sung as a Christian hymn ("Be Still, My Soul"), and was the national anthem of the short-lived African state of Biafra ("Land of the Rising Sun"). Also, in 2006, choral composer Ken Galbreath wrote a song entitled "O Michigan, Our Home" to the tune of Finlandia.

In William Saroyan's story "Finlandia", he writes about his love for the music, and a meeting with Sibelius. "Finlandia" is also named in his most famous short story, "The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze".

The 1990 film Die Hard 2 ends with Finlandia (the director, Renny Harlin is Finnish [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099423/soundtrack Die Hard 2 (1990) - Soundtracks ] ] ).

In 1981 Gloria Gaither wrote text to the musical score entitling her composition, "I Then Shall Live." [ [http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sub=31&workid=2536 "I Then Shall Live" - Sheet music ] ] Her words of love, forgiveness and commitment combined with the drama of Sibelius’ "Finlandia" powerfully declare God’s love and stir the soul. "I Then Shall Live" is featured on the Gaither Vocal Band "a cappella," [ [http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=CD51604-11&event=CFN A Cappella ] ] (2003) and "Amazing Grace Album Version" (2006). [ [http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=CDF2535-16&netp_id=548606&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers Amazing Grace Album Version ] ]

References

ee also

*"Finlandia Hymn"

External links

* [http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/cag4960/index.html Full score] of a number of Sibelius's tone poems, including this piece