Six Partsongs
Choral works byJean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1899)
Opus	18
Text	Nos. 1, 4:Kanteletar Nos. 2–3:Kalevala Nos. 5–6:Aleksis Kivi
Language	Finnish
Composed	1893 (1893)–1901
Publisher	piecemeal by several firms[1]

TheSix Partsongs (sometimes listed as theSix Songs;deprecated title Nine Partsongs or Nine Songs),Op. 18, is a collection ofFinnish-languagea cappella choral pieces written from 1893 to 1901 by the Finnish composerJean Sibelius. Originally composed formale choir, the composer subsequently arranged Nos. 1, 3–4, and 6 (under the same catalogue number) formixed choir. The Six Partsongs are as follows:

• "Sortunut ääni" ("The Broken Voice"), Op. 18/1 (1898–1899,arr. for SATB 1898–1899)[2]
• "Terve kuu" ("Hail, Moon"), Op. 18/2 (1901)^[3]
• "Venematka" ("The Boat Journey"), Op. 18/3 (1893,arr. for SATB 1914)[4]
• "Saarella palaa" ("Fire on the Island"), Op. 18/4 (1895,arr. for SATB 1898)[5]
• "Metsämiehen laulu" ("The Woodsman's Song"), Op. 18/5 (1899)^[3]
• "Sydämeni laulu" ("Song of My Heart"), Op. 18/6 (1898,arr. for SATB 1904)[6]

The lyrics for Nos. 2–3 come from Finland'snational epic, theKalevala, while Nos. 1 and 4 draw on its companion book of poetry, theKanteletar; finally, for Nos. 5–6 Sibelius set excerpts from the novelSeven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) byAleksis Kivi.^[7]

Aleksis Kivi'sSeven Brothers (1870), verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 5–6

Finland'snational epic, theKalevala, verses from which Sibelius set in Op. 18, Nos. 2–3

• 1898–1899 for male choir; arranged for mixed choir in 1898–1899^[2]
• The tempo marking is:Ei liian hitaasti [Not too slowly;Nicht zu langsam].^[8]
• It has a duration of about 1.5 minutes.^[8]
• The text comes from poem No. LVII (57) of theKanteletar.^[8]
• Version for male choir premiered on 21 April 1899 in Helsinki byHeikki Klemetti [fi] and theYL Male Voice Choir.^[8]
• The male choir version was published by YL.^[8]
• Dahlström does not report the premiere of the version for mixed choir.
• The mixed choir version was published byK. E. Holm [fi] in 1898 as part ofSävelistö music magazine, edited byEmil Forsström [fi]^[9]

• 1901 for male choir^[3]
• The tempo marking is:Reippaasti, musta vakavasti [Briskly, but solemnly;Frisch, aber ernst].^[10]
• It has a duration of about three minutes.^[10]
• The text comes from theKalevala, Runo XLIX (49) (lines 403–422).^[10]
• Premiered on 30 May 1901 by Klemetti andSuomen Laulu [fi].^[10]
• Published byFazer & Westerlund [fi] in 1902.^[10]
• Was not arranged for mixed choir.

• 1893 for male choir; arranged for mixed choir in 1914^[4]
• The tempo marking is:Reippaasti [Briskly;Frisch]^[11]
• It has a duration of about two minutes.^[11]
• The text comes from theKalevala, Runo XL (40) (lines 1–16).^[11]
• Version for male choir premiered on 4 April 1893 in Helsinki byJalmari Hahl [fi] and the YL Male Voice Choir.^[11]
• The male choir version was published byK. E. Holm in 1895.^[11]

• Op. 18/4 (1895; arranged for mixed choir in 1898)^[5]
• The text is theKanteletar
• arr. for SATB

• Op. 18/5 (1899)^[3]
• The tempo marking is:Alla marcia
• The text is fromSeven Brothers

• Op. 18/6 (1898; arranged for mixed choir in 1904)^[6]
• The tempo marking is:Lento assai
• The text is fromSeven Brothers

The following three partsongs were at one time listed by Sibelius under the Op. 18 catalogue number but were removed subsequently. The deprecated title of Nine Partsongs, then, refers to their inclusion:

• "Isanmaalle" ("To the Fatherland"), JS 98 (1899; revised and arranged for mixed choir 1900; revised version arranged for male choir in 1908)^[3] ... text byPaavo Cajander
• "Veljeni vierailla maalla" ("My Brothers Abroad"), JS 217 (1904)^[3] ... text byJuhani Aho
• "Min rastas raataa" ("Busy as a Thrush"), JS 129 (1898)^[3] ... for mixed choir only ... text from theKanteletar

External audio
Sung by theYL Male Voice Choir
No. 1, "Sortunut ääni"
No. 2, "Terve kuu"
No. 3, "Venemakta"
No. 4, "Saarella palaa"
No. 5, "Metsämiehen laulu"
No. 6, "Sydämeni laulu"
JS 98, "Isanmaalle"
JS 217, "Veljeni vierailla maalla"

External audio
Sung by theDominante Choir [fi]
No. 1, "Sortunut ääni"
No. 3, "Venemakta"
No. 4, "Saarella palaa"
No. 6, "Sydämeni laulu"
JS 98, "Isanmaalle"
JS 129, "Min rastas raataa"

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Op. 18 partsongs, as well as the three related partsongs noted above:

• Six Partsongs, Op. 18: Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project

• Songs with music by Jean Sibelius
• Classical song cycles in Finnish
• 1893 songs
• 1895 songs
• 1898 songs
• 1899 songs
• 1901 songs
• Finnish-language choral compositions
• Part songs
• Music based on the Kalevala
• Choral compositions by Jean Sibelius

• Articles containing Finnish-language text
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing German-language text
• CS1 interwiki-linked names
• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Works with IMSLP links
• Articles with International Music Score Library Project links