The Six Songs, Op. 36,[a] is a collection of Swedish-language art songs for vocal soloist and piano written from 1899 to 1900 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.[b] As a group, Op. 36 is Sibelius's most popular song set; indeed, "Svarta rosor" is arguably the best-known song in his entire oeuvre.[3] "Säv, säv, susa", too, is oft-performed.[4]
Constituent songs
Ordered by catalogue number, the Op. 36 songs are as follows:
"Svarta rosor" ("Black Roses"), Op. 36/1 (1899); text by the Swedish poet Ernst Josephson[5][c]
"Men min fågel märks dock icke" ("But My Bird is Long in Homing"), Op. 36/2 (1899); text by the Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg[7][d]
"Bollspelet vid Trianon" ("Tennis at Trianon"), Op. 36/3 (1899); text by the Swedish poet Gustaf Fröding[9][e]
"Säv, säv, susa" ("Sigh, Sigh, Sedges"), Op. 36/4 (1900); text by Fröding[11][f]
"Demanten på marssnön" ("The Diamond on the March Snow"), Op. 36/6 (1900); text by Wecksell[15][h]
The collection was first published piecemeal by two Helsinki-based firms: Fazer & Westerlund [fi] (Helsingfors Nya Musikhandel) printed Nos. 1–4 from 1900 to 1901, while Axel E. Lindgren printed Nos. 5–6 in 1901.[17] The table below provides additional information about each song:
In January 1917, Sibelius arranged "Demanten på marssnön" for vocalist and orchestra, which he intended for his frequent collaborator, the celebrated Finnish soprano Ida Ekman;[19] she premiered this version of the song on 22 February 1917 in Helsinki, with her husband, Karl Ekman [fi], conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.[20] It is scored for the following instruments and voices,[20] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, and strings):
^Because Sibelius's Op. 36 songs are sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to each song's native title, rather than the English translation.
^All but a few of Sibelius's songs are settings of Swedish-language poems (quantitatively, his favorite poets were Ernst Josephson, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Viktor Rydberg, and Karl August Tavaststjerna [fi])[1] and are with piano accompaniment. While many are of high quality, they largely have been neglected outside the Nordic realm, due to the limited coverage (in terms of number of speakers) of Swedish (relative to, for example, German or French).[2]
^"Svarta rosor" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Mustat ruusut"; in German: "Schwarze Rosen"; and in French: "Roses funèbres".[6]
^"Men min fågel märks dock icke" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Vaan mun lintuain ei kuulu"; in German: "Doch mein Vogel kehrt nicht wieder"; and in French: "Mon Oiseau ne revient pas".[8]
^"Bollspelet vid Trianon" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Palloleikki Trianonissa"; in German: "Ballspiel in Trianon"; and in French: "Bal à Trianon".[10]
^"Säv, säv, susa" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Soi, soi, kaisla"; in German: "Schilfrohr, säus'le"; and in French: "Parle, ô vague". An alternative English translation of the title is "Reed, Reed, Rustle".[12]
^"Marssnön" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Maaliskuun lumi"; and in German: "Märzschnee".[14]
^"Demanten på marssnön" is known under several additional titles, including: in Finnish "Timantti hangella"; and in German: "Der Diamant auf dem Märzschnee".[16]
Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-16397-1.
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.
Layton, Robert (1993) [1965]. Sibelius. (The Master Musicians Series) (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN0028713222.