The tone poem Pohjola's Daughter (in Finnish: ), Op. 49, was composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1906. Originally, Sibelius intended to title the work , after the character in the (the Finnish national epic). The publisher Robert Lienau insisted on the German title Tochter des Nordens ("Daughter of the North"), which is a literal translation of the work's Finnish title, Pohjolan tytär, traditionally given in English as Pohjola's Daughter. Sibelius then countered with the new title . He also considered calling the work . However, Lienau's suggestion eventually became the work's published title.Erik W. Tawaststjerna (trans. Robert Layton), Sibelius, Volume II: 1904–1914. Faber and Faber (London, 1986), p. 52. (The title was subsequently given to a later piece.) This was the first work that Sibelius wrote directly for a German music publisher. Its first performance was given in Saint Petersburg in December 1906, with the composer himself conducting the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.Erik W. Tawaststjerna (trans. Robert Layton), Sibelius, Volume II: 1904–1914. Faber and Faber (London, 1986), pp. 53–54.
The passage in the that inspired this work is in the 8th Runo, known in various English translations as "The Wound"Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, translated by Keith Bosley. Oxford University Press, Oxford World Classics edition (1989). or "Väinämöinen and the Maiden of North Farm".Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, translated by Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr.. Harvard University Press (1963). The tone poem depicts the "steadfast, old," white-bearded Väinämöinen, who spots the beautiful "daughter of the North (Pohjola)", seated on a rainbow, weaving a cloth of gold while he is riding a sleigh through the dusky landscape. Väinämöinen asks her to join him, but she replies that she will only leave with a man who can perform a number of challenging tasks, such as tying an egg into invisible knots and, most notably, building a boat from fragments of her distaff. Väinämöinen attempts to fulfill these tasks through his own expertise in magic; in many of the tasks he succeeds, but he is eventually thwarted by evil spirits when attempting to build the boat and injures himself with an axe. He gives up, abandons the tasks and continues on his journey alone.
Instrumentation Pohjola's Daughter is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in B), 1 bass clarinet (in B), 2 bassoons, and 1 contrabassoon 4 horns (in F), 2 cornets (in B), 2 trumpets (in B), 3 trombones, and tuba Timpani Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Discography The Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus and the London Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of Pohjola's Daughter in June 1932, which appeared on Volume 1 of HMV's The Sibelius Society series (C 507, 1933). Since Kanajus's pioneering example, many conductors have recorded the work, with Sir Colin Davis—in terms of superlatives—having made four recordings (1979, 2000, 2002, and 2005). The table below lists these and other commercially available recordings:
ConductorOrchestraTimeRecording venueLabel1London Symphony Orchestra (1)193212:38Abbey Road Studio No. 1Naxos Historical2 Boston Symphony Orchestra (1)193612:23Boston Symphony HallNaxos Historical3NBC Symphony Orchestra194012:45Rockefeller CenterNaxos Historical4Standard Hour Symphony Orchestra1948?[], San FranciscoMusic & Arts5London Philharmonic Orchestra (1)195613:45Walthamstow Town HallSOMM6London Symphony Orchestra (2)195412:44Kingsway HallBeulah7 (1)Philadelphia Orchestra (1)195511:45Academy of Music, PhiladelphiaSony Classical8BBC Symphony Orchestra195812:31Kingsway HallEMI Classics9 Morton Gould Orchestra196213:40Manhattan CenterRCA Red Seal10New York Philharmonic196412:35Manhattan CenterSony Classical11Hallé Orchestra (1)196614:13Abbey Road Studio No. 1EMI Classics12 L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande197113:10Victoria HallDecca13Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra197413:50Southampton GuildhallEMI Classics14 (2)Philadelphia Orchestra (2)197613:01Scottish Rite Cathedral, PhiladelphiaSony Classical15 Royal Scottish National Orchestra197712:30Glasgow City HallsChandos16 (1)Boston Symphony Orchestra (2)197914:55Symphony Hall, BostonDecca Records17London Symphony Orchestra (3)198515:18Abbey Road Studio No. 1Cirrus18 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1)198512:53Gothenburg Concert HallBIS19Philharmonia Orchestra198613:46Abbey Road Studio No. 1CBS Masterworks20Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra198813:59Czechoslovak Radio Concert HallNaxos21 (1) Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1)198813:02KulttuuritaloRCA Red Seal 22 Danish National Symphony Orchestra199114:16Danish Radio Concert HallChandos 23Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra199113:02Mosfilm StudiosBrilliant Classics24Atlanta Symphony Orchestra199214:12Woodruff Arts CenterTelarc25 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2)199412:05Gothenburg Concert HallDeutsche Grammophon 26Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra199513:29Tampere HallOndine27City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra200111:51Symphony HallErato28 (2)London Symphony Orchestra (4)200015:05Watford Town HallRCA Red Seal29Iceland Symphony Orchestra200014:01[], ReykjavíkNaxos 30Lahti Symphony Orchestra200013:10Sibelius HallBIS31 (3)Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra200214:29ConcertgebouwRCO Live32 Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra200414:24Finlandia HallOndine 33 (4)London Symphony Orchestra (5)200514:32Barbican CentreLSO Live34Hallé Orchestra (2)200713:13Bridgewater HallHallé35 (2) London Philharmonic Orchestra (2)200812:14Royal Festival HallLPO36Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2)201413:43Helsinki Music CentreOndine37Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra201613:49Grieg HallChandos38Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (3)202212:56Gothenburg Concert HallAlpha
Notes, references, and sources
External links
On-line biography of Jean Sibelius, "The first years in Ainola 1904–1908".