Sibelius's setting of the Finnish poem 'Illalle' (To evening) is one of his rare Finnish settings and demonstrates his growing confidence in handling the highly inflected, vowel-rich Finnish language.
Historical Context
During Sibelius's childhood, Swedish remained the language of government in Finland, alongside Russian, and was spoken by the educated classes, while Finnish was the language of the masses.
Composer Biography
During World War I (1914-18), Sibelius composed many miniatures, including four sets of songs, because he was cut off from his income.
Composer Biography
Sibelius grew up speaking Swedish and did not begin to learn Finnish until he was eight years old.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Sibelius's art was inspired by the Nordic landscape, Finnish mythology (especially the Kalevala), and Swedish-language nature poetry.
Composition History
Almost a quarter of Sibelius's songs are settings of Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a great Finnish poet writing in Swedish, who was Sibelius's favorite poet.
Composition History
The Opus 50 songs were composed in 1906, the same year Sibelius wrote the symphonic fantasy 'Pohjola's Daughter' and incidental music for Hjalmar Procopé's play 'Belshazzar's Feast'.
