The cantata resulted from a commission by the Finnish choral conductor Heikki Klemetti [fi], who had founded the mixed choir Suomen Laulu [fi] in 1900 and desired from Sibelius a new work that the ensemble could perform in the spring of 1920 to celebrate its twentieth anniversary.[3] Sibelius, however, was unenthused, writing in his diary in January 1919: "And then there's the promise I made Klemetti for a work for Suomen Laulu. He is by no means one of my 'admirers'. It annoys me that he only wants to use my name as a decoration".[3] By late December 1919, however, Sibelius's delay tactics ceased and he began work on the piece for Klemetti.
Although Sibelius had planned to set Suomenmaa by the Finnish poet Aleksis Kivi, he settled on Maan virsi by Eino Leino.[3] It is a patriotic text that celebrates Finland, as well as the natural world. For example, in the third stanza, Leino writes:
Maa! sulle kiitosta kantele soikoon,
suvilaulu Suomen,
tuoksussa juhannuskoivun ja tuomen,
rikkaana riemuita virtemme voikoon,
elonhuolet voittaa,
kauneuden korkean sydänkieltä soittaa.
Earth! Let the kantele sing thee its thanks,
Finland’s summer song,
In the scent of the midsummer birch and hawthorn,
Rich may our streams rejoice,
Overcoming the cares of life,
Sounding the inner voice of high beauty.
Sibelius completed the cantata in late January 1920; it premiered a few months later on 4 April 1920 (Easter Sunday) in Helsinki, with Klemetti—its dedicatee—conducting Suomen Laulu and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.[4]
Discography
The Estonian conductor Eri Klas and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus made the world premiere studio recording of the Hymn of the Earth in 1990 for Ondine.[1] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
^Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
Barnett, Andrew (2005). Sibelius: Song of the Earth (booklet). Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, & Dominante Choir. BIS. BIS CD-1365. OCLC62255940
Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. Yale University Press. ISBN9780300111590.
Dahlström, Fabian[in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN3-7651-0333-0.
Lascar, Pierre-Yves (2003). Sibelius: Cantatas (booklet). Paavo Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, & Estonian National Male Choir. Virgin Classics. 7243 5 45589 2 4. OCLC52897195
Okkonen, Jukka (1990). Sibelius: Cantatas (booklet). Eri Klas, Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Ondine. ODE 754-2. OCLC26017670