Search - Jean Sibelius, Jouni Somero, Hannu Jurmu :: Sibelius: Songs

SONGS WITHOUT WORDS

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 03/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How essential is it to know the words of what is being sung? This disc prompts the question, because only the titles of the songs are given. Of the 30 numbers one (the last of all) is actually in English. Four are in German, so I have a fighting chance of catching the words after a while. Ten are in Finnish and might as well be in Martian so far as I'm concerned, and the balance are in Swedish where my competence is little greater.



There must be English translations somewhere, but goodness knows how long it may take to find them. The title of a song or a poem does not necessarily provide any clue to what is about - Schubert's Linden Tree is not `about' a linden tree, to take an obvious case. The matter as I see it is that a synopsis more often than not tells us what we need to be told about vocal lyrics, (music drama is a different case, I admit), but we don't even have synopses here. However I was thrilled with this recital from first hearing, and that was before I found out that Sibelius himself said that his songs could be appreciated without the words' being sung at all. Emboldened by this discovery, I now wish to commend this fine issue without reservation.



The style of the songs may come as a surprise if you have read some of the comment from the special authorities on the matter. Overwhelmingly, they are lyrics, if I may use the term with a very little latitude - the song Orgier (orgies) is a lyric in my book just as Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King is a lyric, although not the same sort of lyric as On Wings of Song. These songs are melodious Lieder, I hear them as being much more in the tradition of Schumann than in that of Wolf, and I presume this is why the composer said they could be heard as wordless vocalises. I would not have recognised the composer although I know his orchestral works almost by heart, and a lot of the fascination of this disc comes precisely from discovering this totally different side to him. I would also suggest that you treat with caution what you may read about the piano parts. Sibelius was not a pianist, but these accompaniments are conceived entirely in terms of piano sound. The symphonies and other orchestral works of Sibelius are imagined in sound so exclusively orchestral that they would be meaningless if played on the piano (which is not so with Beethoven or Brahms), I was surprised to find that such an orchestral master was reluctant to sanction orchestrated versions of his solo songs, but now I have an idea why.



I like this singer's voice enormously. Its tone is not particularly ingratiating, but what Jurmu has is power, that is vital in these songs if the strength of the melodic line is to be put across adequately, and I am thrilled with the ring and confidence of his top notes in particular. The recording has been particularly well calculated for this voice too, with a sense of space around the singer. The piano playing is all of a piece as well, not the last word in refinement perhaps but full-blooded and responsive, which are the characteristics that matter more. What they all convince me of is the stature and significance of these songs, greater and much greater than I had appreciated previously.



There is very little doubt in my mind that when I listen to my familiar favourite Lieder and arias my interest in them is predominantly musical. However that is not going as far as Sibelius suggests, whether or not with his tongue in his cheek. At the very least I like to have known at some stage what they are about, and I'm not there yet with these songs. The short liner-note, in English with German translation, is not bad but it could have used its restricted space more usefully, I feel, if it had said something about the content of the songs rather than about their authorship, which must be of interest mainly to specialists. It refers to the book on Sibelius by Robert Layton in the Master Musicians series, and as I have the book to hand I read the chapter on the songs with benefit. However even that is fairly selective in its comments, referring us for a fuller discussion to a symposium on Sibelius edited by Gerald Abraham which apparently deals with all the songs individually. Manchester Central Library here I come, I suppose. What I recommend all the same is to become acquainted with this recital while progressing our investigations and not to postpone discovering what we can discover immediately. It has all been something of a revelation to me."

Exploring Sibelius's Songs

Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 03/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jean Sibelius (1865 -- 1957)composed over 100 songs during his career, but they have been overshadowed by his orchestral works. Sibelius did not have the same fluency in writing for voice and piano as he showed in composing for the orchestra. He was uncomfortable with the piano and arranged many of his songs for orchestral accompaniment. Most of Sibelius's texts are in Swedish, which was the composer's first language, with a relatively small number in Finnish, German, and one in English. Sibelius set poets, such as Johan Runeberg (1804-1877) who remain little known outside Scandanavia. But for all the obscurity and mixed quality of the songs, there is lovely music to be found in them. This CD includes 30 Sibelius songs, ranging from his first song composed in 1898 to one of his final songs composed in 1925, performed by two promising young Finnish artists, the tenor Hannu Jurmu and pianist Jouni Somero. Jurmu sings these difficult songs expressively and well; his voice is sometimes throaty in negotiating large leaps and high notes in Sibelius's scores. I grew to enjoy these songs more with each hearing. The CD is available on Naxos and is the first of what I assume will be a 3 or 4 CD collection of the complete Sibelius songs. In listening to the songs, I had the benefit of Robert Layton's study, "Sibelius" (1992) in the Master Musicians series. Unfortunately, this book is out-of-print. It has an excellent chapter discussing Sibelius's songs in detail.



The album cover for this CD prominently displays the English names of three of Sibelius's relatively better-known songs: "Black Roses", "The Tryst, and "Was it a Dream?" These songs are written in a florid, late romantic style as are some others on this CD, including "The First Kiss." ("The First Kiss" and a better song titled "Reed, reed, rustle", track 6 appear on this CD in two different versions. The latter-track versions are early efforts of Sibelius and do not have an opus number.)



These three named songs are in a style that will be familiar to lovers of late romantic music. But Sibelius is at his best in his songs in a different style. His better songs are melancholy and spare and feature descriptions of nature. These songs generally tend as well to have simpler piano accompaniments than do the more romantic songs.



The songs I most enjoyed on this CD include the lyrically simple opening track, "To Evening" and its companion, "Driftwood" (track 9). The German songs, "In the Field a Maiden Sings" track 13) and "The Silent City" (track 15) are also lovely in their lyricism and simplicity. The Finnish song "The Echo Nymph" (track 11) has a flowing melodic line. The six short songs collected as opus 88 are short and somewhat slight portrayals of objects in nature. The late song "Narcissus" (track 29) in Swedish is one of Sibelius's finest songs with a delicate treatment of its theme. And Sibelius's only song set in English, the "Hymn to Thais" (track 30) is surprisingly eloquent, even though the English words are almost impossible to understand. There is also an early song, not recorded before, called "orgies" which in its frenetic style amply suggests its subject matter.



Sibelius's songs are worth getting to know, and they add to his stature as a composer. They are idiosyncratic, as is much of the composer's work, and probably not the best place to start for listeners unfamiliar with art song. Listeners who love Sibelius and who have some familiarity with the genre of art song will enjoy this CD. Naxos is doing a service in making Sibelius's songs accessible.



Robin Friedman"