Search - Jorma Panula, Esa Ruuttunen, Johanna Rusanen :: Sibelius: Kullervo: Symphonic Poem for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus and Orchestra

Horrid Tale, But Brilliant Music

Karl Henning | Boston, MA | 01/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Kullervo" was just a name to me - and not even a name I had any particular curiosity about - until I learned from a "virtual acquaintance" that the text was taken from the same episode in the Finnish national epic "Kalevala" on which JRR Tolkien based a chapter in the "Silmarillion" as published by his son Christopher, "Of Túrin Turambar," a prose synopsis of Tolkien's own verse "Narn i Hin Húrin" (The Lay of the Children of Húrin).So I came to Sibelius' "Kullervo" after (1) knowing Tolkien's work for an old literary friend, (2) knowing Tolkien's adaptation of what I later realized was a folk epic, and (3) getting to know and love a great deal of Sibelius' mature orchestral works.A fellow reviewer writes to the effect that Sibelius "called it a work to be ashamed of" ... I am curious about this. But the first thing I should say is, from a purely musical viewpoint, this is a work of which Sibelius need never have been ashamed. It is wonderfully written, masterfully orchestrated; as music, it is simply and unabashedly beautiful, and rich in narrative power.It is a creepy, unseemly story, though. Even in the enriched-artistic setting of Tolkien's, the story is dark, catastrophic, almost nihilistically fatal; Tolkien's broader canvas, in which this story is one strand in a kind of worldwide moral struggle, makes the characters more humane, perhaps, and opens up more avenues to pity for the miserable siblings. For that very reason, though, I find it difficult even to read this passage from the "Kalevala," and an old friend of mine who heard Spano lead the Boston Symphony in this work, came away from it with an impression of its being more pornographic than anything. There is something so elemental in the moral horror of the story, which may interfere with the reception of a musical work based on it, on a purely artistic plane.But Sibelius' musical accomplishment in the piece, in the instrumental movements particularly (but not only there) is considerable and undeniable. So, while it is not a work I could listen to every day, and while I might wish that Sibelius had performed such a feat of artistic creation with some other, less stark and gruesome folk-tale, I nonetheless admire the piece for its great musical merits.... This is one of those ultimately inessential musicological questions - which I should pull the "New Harvard Dictionary of Music" off the shelf to resolve, when I get home - but I wonder if it is still a symphonic poem, if the piece features soprano and baritone soloists, and men's choir ...."

Another Outstanding Naxos Bargin!

A. Craig | Grand Junction,CO | 05/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once again Naxos delivers great music with some of the best sound in the business. This is an early work of Sibelius, some call it a symphonic poem, some call it a symphony. Sibelius called it a work to be ashamed of, fortunately we listeners can decide for ourselves. With the price this is at, this is a good way to introduce yourself to a great work of Sibelius with a performance that I think is better than most of the full price ones."