Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Thomas Jensen
Originally released in 1953 on Decca LP LXT 2831
Transfer and digital remastering by Peter Harrison at disk2disk, June 2007
Download ID: 321154
(Duration 52'02")
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sample movement:
Lemminkäinen Suite:
Four Legends from the Kalevala for Orchestra, Op. 22
Lemminkäinen and the Virgins from Saari
The Swan of Tuonela
Lemminkäinen in Tuonela
Lemminkänen's Return
Notes on the ordering: The order of movements in this recording was the subject of some controversy and criticism at its time of release, as Decca's LP appeared to reverse the order of the second and third movements. However there had long been differing opinions on the way the suite should be played in this regard, and Decca approached Sibelius himself for a definitive opinion on how the Suite should best be presented (although the earliest section of the work, The Swan of Tuonela dates from 1893, all four sections were later revised, including two as late as 1939), and that defined the order of this recording.
Lemminkäinen Suite notes from Wikipedia
The Lemminkäinen Suite (also called the Four Legends, or Four Legends from the Kalevala) is a work written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in the early 1890s which forms his opus 22. Originally conceived as a mythological opera on a scale matching those by Richard Wagner, Sibelius later changed his musical goals and the work became an orchestral piece in four movements. The suite is based on the character Lemminkäinen from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.
Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island: this is based on Runo 29 ("Conquests"), where Lemminkäinen travels to an island and seduces many of the women there, before fleeing the rage of the men on the island.
Lemminkäinen in Tuonela: this is based on Runos 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 Northland, in marriage. However, the blind man of the Northland kills Lemminkäinen, whose body is then tossed in the river and then dismembered. Lemminkäinen's mother learns of his death, travels to Tuonela, recovers his body parts, reassembles him and restores him to life.
The Swan of Tuonela: this is the most popular of the four tone poems and often is featured alone from the suite in orchestral programs. It has a prominent English horn solo.
Lemminkäinen's Return: the storyline in the score roughly parallels the end of Runo 30 ("Jack Frost"), where after his adventures in battle, Lemminkäinen journeys home.
The above order of the movements matches their numbering within opus 22, but concert performances almost invariably transpose the order of the middle two movements.
