Not surprisingly, almost all the music's texts contain references to nature, in Romantic mode. Ensam i dunkla skogarnas famn ("Alone in the Dark Forest's Clasp") is actually more happy in mood than the title suggets, as the choir bids the forest to sing in the "whispering groves" and "by the nocturnal light". Elsewhere, as in Män från slätten och havet ("Men from Land and Sea", 1911, one of the Two Songs, op.65 ), the land-, air- and sea-scapes depicted are often expressed as spiritual distances by which the singers yearn to cross. The questing spirit of the songs thus imply the search for freedom, naturally linking them to the Finns' fight for independence at the turn of the 19th century.

This seeking is also resolved in the idea of rest, especially at night, and the awaiting of the dawning of a new day - and era. This is expressed in the Bell Melody of Kallio Church (the second of the Two Songs ). The gradually dawning moods of Aamusumussa ("In the Morning Mist", 1896/8) unfold the patriotic spirit of the text: "let Finland fight /With toil and sweat of brow: ... The power to expel the murky dark /Rests firmly in our will."

Sometimes the music is of a mild, understatedly playful nature, as in Soitapas, soria likka (?1894, "Play, Beautiful Girl" - recorded here for the first time), or in Koulutie (1924). The latter means "The Way to School" and the text, in first person, sings of the childhood happiness and nostalgia of the countryside path to school. And yet, the memories (or "dreams") eventually give way to wondering of "[t]hat somewhere, far off perhaps as yet, /A wondrous future awaits."

Less subtle in its message is the Juhlamarssi (1896, Festive March), which originally served as the last movement of Sibelius' recently recovered Cantata for the University Ceremonies of 1894. This, and the one-minute Skolsång (1925, "School Song") are of the "Arise! Go forth!" variety of patriotic anthems. Likewise, the March of the Labourers (1896, Työkansan marssi) which I feel is the most successful of the three.

Naturally, all these nature/dawning/patriotism/freedom elements come together in probably Sibelius' single most famous choral melody, the ever-popular Finlandia Hymn. The tone poem Finlandia was written in 1899, but the Hymn was extracted in 1937, and the version for mixed choir made in 1948. To this day, the Hymn ("Finland's second national anthem") retains its power and beauty - at least to the die-hard Romantics:

O Finland, see, your dawn approaches,
And the night is dispersed, dark and long,
Hear how the voice of the lark mixes with sighing space,
Soon the skies will be filled with jubilation.
See how the night flees and you breathe freely again.
Your morning dawns, o country dear.

Rise high, our country, newly raised from darkness.
Meet the waiting day, free and open,
With the same power you showed
When you broke asunder the yoke of slavery.
Repression never bowed you to the ground.
Your day has dawned, o country dear.

The Symphonies
The First Symphony An Inktroduction
The First Symphony Survey of Recordings

The Fifth Symphony An Inktroduction
The Fifth Symphony Survey of Recordings

The Seventh Symphony An Inktroduction
The Seventh Symphony Survey of Recordings

Lahti/Vänskä Cycle: Nos.1 & 4 | 2 & 3 | 5 & 5 | 6 & 7, Tapiola

The Bournemouth Symphony/Berglund Cycle (1970s)

Iceland/Sakari Cycle: Nos. 1 & 3 | 2 | 4 & 5 | 6 & 7 | Four Legends

More Symphonies reviews at the Inkvault

Kullervo This Way Lies the Future: An Inktroduction with further links

The Violin Concerto Original and Final Versions on BIS