Finnish choral music
In the songs op. 18 and op. 65, Sibelius set images of nature and love romances for mixed choir a cappella.
The Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939 is similar in many respects to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and Finland has once again become the focus of public attention. Especially before the two terrible world wars, choral singing in Scandinavia was an expression of political, liberal-national emancipation. To this day, the composer Jean Sibelius is the all-encompassing figure of identification for Finland, just as Edvard Grieg is for Norway. And the Singing Revolution of 1989 in the Baltic states shows that the power of song can also be quite relevant.
Breitkopf & Härtel has now published two exemplary Urtext single editions from the complete edition of Jean Sibelius' works in its Chorbibliothek series: the early Four songs from op. 18 and the Two songs op. 65, each for mixed choir a cappella. The relatively short pieces paint wonderful pictures of nature and love romances. Due to their moderate level of difficulty and the fact that the Finnish script is almost phonetic, they are highly recommended for amateur choirs. In addition to detailed prefaces, there are also singable German translations. A real enrichment.
Jean Sibelius: Four songs for mixed choir a cappella from op. 18, edited by Sakari Ylivuori, choral score, ChB 5372, € 7.50, Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden
id.: Two songs op. 65, ChB 5373, € 8.70
