Rakastava
Rakastava, Op. 14, is a suite by Jean Sibelius. He completed it in 1912, scored for string orchestra, percussion and triangle. He based it on his earlier composition of the same title, a song cycle of four movements for men's chorus a cappella completed in 1894. The works are based on a Finnish text in Book 1 of the Kanteletar.
History
In 1894, Sibelius completed Rakastava, a cycle of four a cappella songs for men's chorus on a Finnish text in Book 1 of the collection of Finnish folk poems, the Kanteletar. He first set it in 1894, as an entry for a local competition. He won the second prize, while the first prize went to his former teacher. Sibelius arranged the cycle for men's chorus and string orchestra in 1894, and for mixed choir in 1898.Sibelius used the cycle as the basis for the orchestral suite Rakastava for string orchestra, percussion and triangle, to which he assigned the opus number 14. He completed it in 1912, when he also wrote his Fourth Symphony. Sibelius often conducted the suite together with his symphonies because the piece "captivated audiences".
Music
Structure of the song cycle
- Missä armahani
- Armahan kulku
- ''Hyvää iltaa lintuseni''
Structure of the suite
- Rakastava, Andante con moto
- Rakastetun tie, Allegretto
- Hyvää iltaa... Jää hyvästi, Andantino
Discography
The sortable table below contains other commercially available recordings of orchestral version of Rakastava:Literature
- Tomi Mäkelä: "Jean Sibelius und seine Zeit", Laaber-Verlag, Regensburg 2013