The Bard (in Swedish: ), Op. 64, tone poem for orchestra written in 1913 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was first performed in Helsinki on 27 March 1913 by the Philharmonic Society Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, but he revised it in 1914.Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The new version was first performed in Helsinki on 9 January 1916, again under the baton of the composer.
In Britain, Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra recorded the tone poem in January 1936 for broadcast. The first public performance in the UK was given by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1938.
The tone poem itself provides a profound, yet cryptic glimpse of an elegiac, poetic world: an initial, harp-led stillness and reflection are succeeded by elemental, eruptive surges and, finally, a sense of renunciation or maybe death.
Instrumentation
The Bard is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B), 1 bass clarinet (in B), and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in B), and 3 trombones Timpani, bass drum, and tam-tam Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Discography The sortable table below contains this and other commercially available recordings of The Bard: ConductorEnsembleTimeRecording venueLabel1London Philharmonic Orchestra (1)19387:10Abbey Road Studio No. 1Naxos Historical2London Philharmonic Orchestra (2)19566:07Walthamstow Town HallOmega Classics3 (1) Royal Scottish National Orchestra (1)19667:42Abbey Road Studio No. 1EMI Classics4 (2)Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1)19726:51"Concert Hall", HelsinkiDeutsche Grammophon 5Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra19768:14Southampton GuildhallEMI Classics6 (2) Royal Scottish National Orchestra (2)19777:42Glasgow City HallsChandos7 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1)19868:02Gothenburg Concert HallBIS8 Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2)19887:28KulttuuritaloRCA Red Seal 9Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra19917:04Mosfilm StudiosBrilliant Classics10 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2)19946:53Gothenburg Concert HallDeutsche Grammophon 11London Symphony Orchestra20007:57Watford Town HallRCA Red Seal12Iceland Symphony Orchestra20008:07[], ReykjavíkNaxos 13Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2)20007:32Sibelius HallBIS14City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra20017:58Symphony HallErato, Warner Classics 15Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra20108:08Finlandia HallOndine16 (2)Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2)20117:01Sibelius HallBIS
Notes
References
External links