| "Serenad" | |
|---|---|
| Orchestral song byJean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1895) | |
| Catalogue | JS 168 |
| Text | Serenad byStagnelius[1] |
| Language | Swedish |
| Composed | c. 1894–1895 |
| Duration | 4.5 mins.[1] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 17 April 1895 (1895-04-17)[1] |
| Location | Helsinki,Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | |
"Serenad" (in English: "Serenade"; in Finnish: "Serenadi"),[a]JS 168, is anart song forbaritone andorchestra written inc. 1894–1895[2] by the Finnish composerJean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the eponymous poem by the Swedish poetErik Johan Stagnelius, premiered on 17 April in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting theHelsinki Philharmonic Society; the soloist was the Finnish baritoneAbraham Ojanperä.[1]
The "Serenad", however, remained unpublished and was never performed again in Sibelius's lifetime, apparently because he wished to revise it (however, a planned revision in 1910 never materialized).[3] In 1984, however, the composer's estate agreed to permit its recording.[4] The song was first published in Volume VIII/1 of theJean Sibelius Works (JSW)critical edition,[1] an ongoing collaborative project involving theNational Library of Finland, the German firm ofBreitkopf & Härtel, and theSibelius Society of Finland.[1]
The "Serenad" is scored for the following instruments and voices,[1] organized by family (vocalists,woodwinds,brass, andstrings):
The BritishmusicologistRobert Layton has praised the "Serenad" as "something of a discovery ... it has the greatest delicacy and atmosphere, and its whisperingpizzicato strings are wonderfully suggestive". He concludes by labeling it as "one of Sibelius's very greatest and most subtle songs both in its use of rhythm and color".[4] The Sibelius biographerAndrew Barnett characterizes the "Serenad" as a "nocturnal lament for [one's] lost love", thechromaticism of which illustrates the extent to which still in the mid-1890s, Sibelius was underWagner's spell.[3]
The Finnish conductorJorma Panula and theGothenburg Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Finnish baritoneJorma Hynninen, made the world premiere studio recording of the "Serenad" in 1984 forBIS.[1] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
| No. | Soloist | Conductor | Orchestra | Rec.[b] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorma Hynninen | Jorma Panula | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | 1984 | 4:39 | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS | |
| 2 | Tommi Hakala | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | 2005 | 5:47 | Sibelius Hall | BIS |
