The Lemminkäinen Suite, or more correctly Four Legends from the Kalevala, Op. 22, is a sequence of four tone poems for orchestra completed in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The work was conceived as (The Building of the Boat), an opera with a mythological setting, before taking its form as a suite. There is a narrative thread: the exploits are followed of the heroic character Lemminkäinen from the Kalevala, which is a collection of folkloric, mythic, epic poetry. The second tone poem, The Swan of Tuonela, is popular as a standalone orchestral work.

History The piece was originally conceived as a mythological opera before Sibelius abandoned the idea and made it a piece consisting of four distinct movements. The first two though were withdrawn by the composer soon after its premiere and were neither performed, nor added to the published score of the suite until 1935. Sibelius changed the order of the movements when he made his final revisions in 1939, placing The Swan of Tuonela second, and Lemminkäinen in Tuonela third.Barnett, Andrew, Sibelius (2007), p.341. .

Sibelius revised the score in 1897 and 1939.

Movements Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island is based on Canto 29 ("Conquests".) of the Kalevala, where Lemminkäinen travels to an island and seduces many of the women there, before fleeing the rage of the men on the island. The movement is also known as Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari, Saari being the Finnish word for island. The Swan of Tuonela is the most popular of the four tone poems and often is featured alone from the suite in orchestral programs. It has a prominent cor anglais solo. The music paints a gossamer, transcendental image of a mystical swan swimming around Tuonela, the island of the dead. Lemminkäinen in Tuonela is based on Canto 14 ("Elk, horse, swan") and 15 ("Resurrection"). 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 Pohjola or Northland, in marriage. However, the blind man of the Northland shoots and kills Lemminkäinen with a poisoned arrow, whose body is then tossed in the river and dismembered. Lemminkäinen's mother learns of his death, travels to Tuonela, recovers his body parts, reassembles him and restores him to life. Lemminkäinen's Return: The storyline in the score roughly parallels the end of Canto 30 ("Pakkanen"), where after his adventures in battle, Lemminkäinen journeys home.

Instrumentation

Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island is scored as follows: 2 flutes (each doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B), and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in F), and 3 trombones Timpani, bass drum, cymbals, and triangle Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

The Swan of Tuonela is scored as follows: Soloist: cor anglais 1 oboe, 1 bass clarinet (in B), and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in F) and 3 trombones Timpani and bass drum Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp

Lemminkäinen in Tuonela is scored as follows: 2 flutes (each doubling piccolo), 1 oboe, 1 cor anglais, 1 clarinet (in A), 1 bass clarinet (in B) and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in E and F), 3 trumpets (in E and F), and 3 trombones Bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and tambourine Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

Lemminkäinen's Return is scored as follows: 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B), and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in F), 3 trombones, and tuba Timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, and glockenspiel Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

Discography The sortable table below contains commercially available recordings of the complete Lemminkäinen Suite: ConductorOrchestraTimeRecording venueLabel1 (1)Philadelphia Orchestra (1)195144:29Academy of Music, PhiladelphiaSony Classical2 (1)??Metronome3Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra195345:06Danish Radio Concert Hall (old)Decca4 (2)Philadelphia Orchestra (2)195547:12[], HelsinkiArchipel5U.S.S.R. Radio Symphony Orchestra46:54[], MoscowMelodiya6Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra196843:43Kleinhans Music HallNonesuch7Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra197344:57Budapest Recording StudiosDecca8Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra197449:20Liverpool Philharmonic HallEMI Classics9Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1)1975†45:10Finlandia HallDeutsche Grammophon10 (3)Philadelphia Orchestra (3)197845:52The Old Met, PhiladelphiaEMI Classics11 (1)Scottish National Orchestra197844:29Usher HallChandos12 L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande198043:00Victoria HallDecca13 (1)Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1)198548:52Gothenburg Concert HallBIS14 (2)Royal Philharmonic Orchestra198945:08St John's, Smith SquareCollins Classics15 (1)Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2)198946:50KulttuuritaloRCA Red Seal 16 (1)Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra1991†45:07Royce HallSony Classical17Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra199148:18Mosfilm StudiosBrilliant Classics18Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège199541:32Royal Conservatory of LiègeAuvidis19Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (1)1995†50:04Ondine20 (2)199649:23Stockholm Concert HallVirgin Classics21 (2)Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2)199643:28Gothenburg Concert HallDeutsche Grammophon22Iceland Symphony Orchestra1997†48:36University Hall, ReykjavíkNaxos23 (2)Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (3)1998†45:58Konzerthaus, ViennaClassica24 (3)Toronto Symphony Orchestra1998†46:03Massey HallFinlandia25 (1)Lahti Symphony Orchestra (1)199949:08RistinkirkkoBIS2646:51?Arte Nova27Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra199953:48Berwald HallOndine28London Symphony Orchestra200051:47Watford ColosseumRCA Red Seal29 (2)Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2)200747:06Sibelius HallBIS30 (2)Sibelius Academy Orchestra2008†45:06Walt Disney Concert HallSibelius-Akatemia31Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (4)201447:44Helsinki Music CentreOndine32BBC Symphony Orchestra2018†46:19Watford ColosseumChandos33Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (2)202349:36Helsinki Music CentreBIS34Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (3)202448:22Gothenburg Concert HallAlpha Classics

† = This recording utilizes Sibelius's original ordering of the suite, with The Swan of Tuonela played third and Lemminkäinen in Tuonela played second.

Where a conductor or orchestra has recorded the suite more than once, a number has been added (in brackets) to help distinguish the recordings and clarify the results of sorting the list.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra have recorded the original versions of Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island and Lemminkäinen's Return under Osmo Vänskä (BIS CD-1015), and of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela under Dima Slobodeniuk (BIS 2371).

Notes, references, and sources Notes

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