My Own Land


My Own Land, Op. 92, is a single-movement, patriotic cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1918 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of Finnish-language poem of the same name, is chronologically the sixth of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas; in particular, it belongs to the series of four "little known, but beautiful" cantatas from the composer's mature period that also includes Song of the Earth, Hymn of the Earth, and Väinämöinen's Song. My Own Land premiered on 25 October 1918 in Helsinki with conducting the Helsinki Youth League —the commissioning ensemble and dedicatee—and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Instrumentation

My Own Land is scored for the following instruments and voices, organized by family :

History

The cantata resulted from a commission by the "Helsinki Youth League", a youth choir that eventually became the Finnish National Chorus ; the ensemble desired from Sibelius a new work that it could perform in 1918 to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Sibelius at the time was staying in Helsinki at Lapinlahti, having abandoned Ainola as a precaution in mid-February due to risks associated with the Finnish Civil War.
The war led to food shortages and inflation, and Sibelius desperately needed money. It was in these "inauspicious circumstances" that he agreed composed the new cantata, although the National Chorus offered him a mere 1,000 Finnish marks, which the composer was to return upon selling the cantata to a publisher.
Sibelius chose to set the poem Oma maa by the Finnish poet Kallio, which had become dear to him during the war. It is a patriotic text—one of "finest achievements of Finnish lyrical poetry", pre-Kivi—that speaks of one's longing for Finland and references Finnish mythology. For example, in the first stanza, Kallio writes:
Original FinnishEnglish translation
Vallan autuas se, jok' ei nuorena sortunu maaltaan,
hyljetty onnensa kans' urhoin haudoilta pois!
Ei sopis miehenä näin mun nuhdella taivahan töitä,
mutta mun syämeni taas tahtoopi huoata ees.
Kun minä muistan sen yön, jona rakkailta rannoilta luovuin,
nousevat silmiini nyt vieläkin viljavat veet.
Ei mun mielestän' ei mee Pohjolan tunturit, joilla
lasna ma kuuntelin kuin sampo ja kantelo soi.		Fortunate is he who in youth was not driven from his country,
Abandoned by fortune, far from his heroes' graves!
As a man it does not befit me to question heaven's deeds,
But my heart wishes once more, at least, to sigh.
When I remember the night when I left the shores I loved,
Even now many a tear moistens my eye.
No, I cannot forget the hills of the Northland, where
As a child I heard the music of the sampo and kantele.

Indeed, Sibelius spoke of his composition as a "song of praise to nature and the white nights of Finland".
Sibelius completed the cantata in late March 1918, around the time that the Whites retook Helsinki. The piece premiered months later on 25 October 1918 in Helsinki, with the Finnish composer conducting the National Chorus—its dedicatee—and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Sibelius was in attendance, a trip that had cost him about 5,000 marks. The critics gave the cantata mixed reviews: praised the piece as a "convincing expression for the beauty of Finland", while Leevi Madetoja thought that "the many-faceted orchestral texture could... have been given with greater clarity".
A few modern-day commentators, however, have found much to like in My Own Land. For example, Guy Rickards has labeled the cantata a "minor masterpiece", although it "does not sound particularly Finnish in character". Calling My Own Land "dignified and euphonious" in its "magical evocation of wintry nights with and the white nights of midsummer", Robert Layton has argued that the cantata "deserves to be heard more often outside of Finland". Vesa Sirén has described the cantata as "confident and free from the most defiant patriotism. It is as if Sibelius was already trying to lead the divided nation towards a more moderate future". Finally, describing the late cantatas as a whole, Pierre-Yves Lascar argues that they "demonstrate more talent than genuine inspiration... rarely if ever equal the genius of the symphonies or the symphonic poems"; nevertheless, they "charm the listener" and are "beautiful works".

Discography

The Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of My Own Land in June 1985 for EMI Classics; they were joined by the YL Male Voice Choir The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
ConductorOrchestraChorusTimeVenueLabel
1Helsinki Philharmonic OrchestraHelsinki University Chorus198512:13KulttuuritaloEMI Classics
2Finnish National Opera OrchestraFinnish National Opera Chorus199012:00Ondine
3Lahti Symphony Orchestra200113:26Sibelius HallBIS
4Estonian National Symphony OrchestraEstonian National Male Choir
Ellerhein Girls' Choir		200211:55Estonia Concert HallVirgin Classics