Two Serious Melodies
| Two Serious Melodies | |
|---|---|
| Concertante pieces by Jean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1915) | |
| Opus | 77 |
| Composed | 1914–1915 |
| Publisher | Hansen (1922–1923)[1] |
| Duration | 8 mins[2] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 30 March 1916[1] |
| Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | |
The Two Serious Melodies, Op. 77, are concertante compositions for violin and orchestra written from 1914 to 1915 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. They are:
- Cantique, Op. 77/1 (1914); subtitled "Laetare anima mea" ("Rejoice my soul"). Moderato assai
- Devotion, Op. 77/2 (1915); subtitled "Ab imo pectore" ("From my very heart"). Tempo molto moderato
Sibelius originally called No. 1 Lofsången (Song of Praise). In 1915, he made transcriptions of each piece for violin and piano. In 1916, he arranged both pieces for cello and orchestra and transcribed them, too, for cello and piano.[3][4]
Each piece is dedicated to the Finnish cellist Ossian Fohström.
Instrumentation
Cantique is scored for the following instruments:[5]
- Soloist: violin (or cello)
- Woodwinds: 2 flutes and 2 clarinets (in B♭)
- Brass: 2 horns (in F)
- Percussion: timpani (2 players)
- Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Devotion is scored for the following instruments:[6]
- Soloist: violin (or cello)
- Woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets (in A), and 2 bassoons
- Brass: 4 horns (in F) and 3 trombones
- Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
Recordings
The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the complete Two Serious Melodies:
Notes, references, and sources
- Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ V. Ashkenazy–Decca (473 590–2) 2003
- ^ V. Handley–Koch-Schwann (CD 311 003 F1) 1988
- ^ L. Foster–Parnass (91 987 8) 1982
- ^ N. Järvi–BIS (CD–472) 1990
- ^ J. Saraste–Finlandia (4509–95872–2) 1992
- ^ L. Pfaff–Arion Music (ARN 68330) 1996
- ^ T. Dausgaard–Virgin Classics (7243 5 45534 2 4) 2002
- ^ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–1485) 2006
- ^ L. Segerstam–Naxos (8.573340) 2015
- ^ A. Garrido Porras–La Dolce Volta (LDV 23) 2015
- ^ E. Gardner–Chandos (CHAN 5267) 2024
- References
- ^ a b Dahlström 2003, pp. 338, 340.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 338–339.
- ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 248, 251, 260.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 338–340.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 338.
- ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 339.
- Sources
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
- 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. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
