The Origin of Fire

Patriotic cantata by Jean Sibelius (1902/1910)

The Origin of Fire

Cantata by Jean Sibelius

The composer (c. 1902)

Native name| Tulen synty
Opus| 32
Text| Kalevala (Runo XLVII)[1]
Language| Finnish
Composed| 1902 (1902), rev. 1910
Publisher| Breitkopf & Härtel (1912)[2]
Duration| 10 mins. (orig. 15 mins.)[3]
Premiere
Date| 9 April 1902 (1902-04-09)[1]
Location| Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland
Conductor| Jean Sibelius
Performers|

* Helsinki Philharmonic Society
* Abraham Ojanperä (baritone)

The Origin of Fire (in Finnish: Tulen synty), Op. 32, is a single-movement, patriotic cantata for baritone, male choir, and orchestra written in 1902 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of Runo XLVII (lines 41–110) of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, is chronologically the fourth of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas.

It premiered on 9 April 1902 at the opening of the Finnish National Theatre, conducted by the composer. It was later revised in 1910. Some of the sketches for the piece can be related back to 1893 to 1894.

## Instrumentation

[edit]

The revised version of The Origin of Fire is scored for the following instruments and voices,[1] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

* Baritone and male choir (TTBB)
* 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, and 2 bassoons
* 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, and tuba
* Timpani, glockenspiel, bass drum, cymbals, and triangle
* Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

The original version of the piece is scored identically, with the exception that triangle is omitted.[4]

## Discography

[edit]

The American conductor Thor Johnson and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of The Origin of Fire in 1953 for Remington Records (later reissued by Varèse Sarabande); they were joined by the Finnish baritone Sulo Saarits [fi] and the YL Male Voice Choir (then the Helsinki University Chorus).[2] The sortable table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

No. | Conductor  | Orchestra  | Baritone  | Chorus  | Rec.[a] | Time[b] | Venue  | Label  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Thor Johnson | Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Sulo Saarits [fi] | YL Male Voice Choir (1)  | 1953  | 8:47  | ?  | Varèse Sarabande |

[c]

2  | Paavo Berglund | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Jorma Hynninen | YL Male Voice Choir (2)
Estonian National Male Choir | 1985  | 8:34  | Kulttuuritalo | EMI |

[d]

3  | Neeme Järvi | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Sauli Tiilikainen [fi] | Laulun Ystävät Male Choir [fi] | 1985  | 9:54  | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS |

[e]

4  | Osmo Vänskä (1)  | Lahti Symphony Orchestra (1)  | Tommi Hakala (1)  | YL Male Voice Choir (3)  | 2005  | 9:03  | Sibelius Hall | BIS |

[f]

†  | Osmo Vänskä (2)  | Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2)  | Tommi Hakala (2)  | YL Male Voice Choir (4)  | 2005  | 11:20  | Sibelius Hall | BIS |

[f]

† = original version (1902)

## Notes, references, and sources

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
2. ^ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
3. ^ T. Johnson—Varèse Sarabande (VC 81041) 1978
4. ^ P. Berglund—EMI (CDS 7 47496 8) 1985
5. ^ N. Järvi—BIS (CD–314) 1986
6. ^ a b O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1525) 2007

References

1. ^ a b c Dahlström 2003, p. 143.
2. ^ a b Dahlström 2003, p. 144.
3. ^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 142–143.
4. ^ Dahlström 2003, p. 142.

Sources

* Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
* Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.

## External links

[edit]

* The Origin of Fire (Tulen synty), Op. 32: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

* v
* t
* e

Jean Sibelius

* List of compositions
* Discography of symphony cycles

Symphonies|

* Kullervo (1892)
* Symphony No. 1 (1899, rev. 1900)
* Symphony No. 2 (1902)
* Symphony No. 3 (1907)
* Symphony No. 4 (1911)
* Symphony No. 5 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919)
* Symphony No. 6 (1923)
* Symphony No. 7 (1924)
* Symphony No. 8 (mid 1920s–c. 1938, abandoned)

Concertante|

* Violin Concerto (1904, rev. 1905)
* Two Serenades (1912–1913)
* Two Serious Melodies (1914–1915)
* Six Humoresques (1917–1918, No. 1 rev. 1940)
* Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (1929)

Tone poems|

* En saga (1892, rev. 1902)
* Spring Song (1894, rev. 1895)
* The Wood Nymph (1895)
* Lemminkäinen Suite
* 1895, rev. 1897, 1900, 1939; includes The Swan of Tuonela
* Finlandia (1899)
* Pohjola's Daughter (1906)
* Nightride and Sunrise (1909)
* The Dryad (1910)
* The Bard (1913)
* Luonnotar (1913)
* The Oceanides (1914, rev. 1914)
* Tapiola (1926)

Opera & theatre|

* The Building of the Boat (1893–1894, abandoned)
* The Maiden in the Tower (1896)
* King Christian II (1898)
* Kuolema
* 1903; includes Valse triste
* Pelléas et Mélisande (1905)
* Belshazzar's Feast (1906)
* Swanwhite (1908)
* The Lizard (1909)
* The Language of the Birds (1911)
* Scaramouche (1913)
* Everyman (1916)
* The Tempest (1925)

Cantatas|

* Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1894
* Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II (1896)
* Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1897
* The Origin of Fire (1902, rev. 1910)
* The Captive Queen (1906)
* My Own Land (1918)
* Song of the Earth (1919)
* Hymn of the Earth (1920)
* Väinämöinen's Song (1926)

Other voice(s) & orchestra|

* The Rapids-Rider's Brides (1897)
* The Breaking of the Ice on the Oulu River (1899)
* Snöfrid (1900)
* Marjatta (1905, abandoned)
* Impromptu (1902, rev. 1910)
* The Raven (1910, abandoned)

Other orchestral|

* Overture in E major (1891)
* Ballet Scene (1891)
* Karelia Suite (1893)
* Rakastava (1894, arr. 1912)
* Scènes historiques I (1899, arr. 1911)
* Overture in A minor (1902)
* Romance in C major (1904)
* Cassazione (1904, rev. 1905)
* Pan and Echo (1906)
* In memoriam (1909, rev. 1910)
* Scènes historiques II (1912)
* Suite mignonne (1921)
* Suite champêtre (1922)
* Suite caractéristique (1922)

String quartets|

* String Quartet in E-flat major (1885)
* String Quartet in A minor (1889)
* String Quartet in B-flat major (1890)
* String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae (1909)
* Andante festivo (1922, orch. 1938)

Piano trios|

* Piano Trio in A minor, Hafträsk (1886)
* Piano Trio in D major, Korpo (1887)
* Piano Trio in C major, Lovisa (1888)

Other chamber|

* Water Droplets (c. 1875–1881)
* Pieces for brass septet (1889–1899)
* Piano Quintet (1890)
* Malinconia (1900)
* Violin Sonatina (1915)

Piano|

* Six Impromptus (1893)
* Piano Sonata (1893)
* Ten Pieces, Op. 24 (1895–1903)
* Kyllikki (1904)
* Three Sonatinas (1912)
* The Bells of Kallio Church (1912, arr. 1912)
* Two Rondinos (1912)
* Five Pieces, The Trees, Op. 75 (1914)
* Five Pieces, The Flowers, Op. 85 (1916–1917)
* Five Esquisses (1929)

Songs|

* Seven Runeberg Songs, Op. 13 (1891–1892)
* "Serenad", JS 168 (1894–1895)
* Six Songs, Op. 36 (1899–1900)
* Five Songs, Op. 37 (1900–1902)
* Seven Songs, Op. 17 (1891–1904)
* Five Songs, Op. 38 (1903–1904; includes "Höstkväll")
* Six Songs, Op. 50 (1906)
* Two Songs, Op. 35 (1908)
* "Kom nu hit, död", Op. 60/1 (1909, orch. 1957)
* "Arioso", Op. 3 (1911)
* Five Christmas Songs, Op. 1 (1897–1913; includes "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt")
* Six Runeberg Songs, Op. 90 (1917)

Choral works|

* Hymn, Op. 21 (1896, rev. 1898)
* Songs for Mixed Chorus from the 1897 Promotional Cantata (arr. 1898)
* Finlandia Hymn (1899, arr. 1938–1940)
* Six Partsongs, Op. 18 (1893–1901)
* Jäger March (1917)

Family|

* Ainola (home)
* Aino Sibelius (wife)
* Ruth Snellman [fi] (daughter)
* Heidi Blomstedt (daughter)
* Christian Sibelius (brother)
* Aulis Blomstedt (son-in-law)
* Jussi Jalas (son-in-law)
* Jussi Snellman [fi] (son-in-law)
* Alexander Järnefelt (father-in-law)
* Elisabeth Järnefelt (mother-in-law)
* Armas Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
* Arvid Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
* Eero Järnefelt (brother-in-law)
* Kasper Järnefelt [fi] (brother-in-law)

Teachers|

* Helsinki Music Institute: Martin Wegelius (theory, composition)
* Mitrofan Vasiliev (violin)
* Hermann Csillag [de] (violin)
* Post-graduate studies: Albert Becker
* Robert Fuchs
* Karl Goldmark

Pupils|

* Toivo Kuula
* Leevi Madetoja
* Bengt de Törne [fi]

Colleagues & friends|

* Juhani Aho
* Aino Ackté
* Granville Bantock
* Ferruccio Busoni
* Axel Carpelan [fi] (patron)
* Olin Downes
* Ida Ekman
* Richard Faltin [fi]
* Ida Flodin [fi]
* Karl Flodin [fi]
* Akseli Gallen-Kallela
* Heikki Klemetti [fi]
* Santeri Levas (secretary)
* Erkki Melartin
* Oskar Merikanto
* Rosa Newmarch
* Abraham Ojanperä
* Selim Palmgren
* Adolf Paul
* Wilhelm Stenhammar
* Karl Wasenius [fi]

Select interpreters|

* Sir Thomas Beecham
* Paavo Berglund
* Sir Colin Davis
* Neeme Järvi
* Paavo Järvi
* Robert Kajanus
* Herbert von Karajan
* Serge Koussevitzky
* Hannu Lintu
* Sakari Oramo
* Eugene Ormandy
* Sir Simon Rattle
* Jukka-Pekka Saraste
* Georg Schnéevoigt
* Leif Segerstam
* Leopold Stokowski
* Osmo Vänskä

Select biographers|

* Fabian Dahlström [fi]
* Karl Ekman [fi]
* Erik Furuhjelm [fi]
* Glenda Dawn Goss
* Cecil Gray
* Robert Layton
* Nils-Eric Ringbom [fi]
* Erik W. Tawaststjerna

Namesakes|

* International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition
* Jean Sibelius Quartet
* Sibelius (2003 film)
* Sibelius (scorewriter)
* Sibelius Academy
* Sibelius Academy Quartet
* Sibelius Glacier
* Sibelius Hall
* Sibelius Medal
* Sibelius Monument
* Sibelius Museum
* Sibelius Piano Trio
* Sibelius Society of Finland
* 1405 Sibelius (asteroid)
* Wihuri Sibelius Prize

Category

Portal:

* Classical Music

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Other|

* MusicBrainz work
* 2

*[c.]: circa
*[rev.]: revised
*[orig.]: originally
*[TTBB]: four-part male choir
*[No.]: Chronological number
*[Rec.]: Year of recording
*[Ref.]: References
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[arr.]: arranged
*[orch.]: orchestrated