Karelia Suite
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The Karelia Suite is a collection of pieces composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, published as his Op. 11.
The pieces are drawn from several independent works he wrote in 1893 for a patriotic historical pageant to be presented by students of University of Helsinki in Vyborg, Karelia, in the south-eastern corner of Finland. Sibelius subsequently compiled a "Concert Suite" of three pieces from the pageant's incidental music (an overture was published separately).
The rough-hewn character of the music was deliberate: the aesthetic intention was not dazzle with technique but to capture the quality of "naive", folk-based authenticity.
The Suite is in three movements:
- Intermezzo – a jaunty Allegro march-like theme, which begins low down in the orchestra, depicts a procession, the orchestra brilliantly portraying the atmosphere of marching contingents in a waving sea of flags.
- a melancholic Ballade, "sung" by a bard (on cor anglais), reflecting the mood of a fifteenth century Swedish king, Karl Knutsson, reminiscing in his castle whilst being entertained by a minstrel.
- a final Alla Marcia – an exhilarating march. This music was originally incidental to a tableau depicting a castle siege.
The Karelia province was held dear by Sibelius. In earlier years he had found stimulus in its folk music, and later he was to spend his honeymoon there.
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