This glorious-sounding choral song premiered on December 13, 1896. Only its brevity and the fact that its text is in the Finnish language (unfamiliar to most choruses) are obvious as reasons that it has not gained worldwide popularity.

Despite lasting only four minutes, the song, with its rhythmic inventiveness, brilliant scoring, and great uplifting spirit, creates a breath-taking portrait of youth and impulsiveness. It is probably the most convincing brief musical portrait of a legendary hero since the death of Richard Wagner during the previous decade, possessing a similar energy and drive to the older composer's Siegfried's Rhine Journey, and a sound not far distant from it.

The text was by a young poet, Yrjö Weijola (1875 - 1930). Written while Weijola was still a student, the poem was inspired by the figure of Lemminkäinen, the brashest and most impulsive of the heroes of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. The entry of the Kalevala into Finnish national consciousness had occurred in the middle part of the nineteenth century when the poem Elias Lönnrot (1802 - 1884) translated the ancient runic writing that preserved its ancient oral tradition.

Lönnrot's translation helped serve to awaken Finnish nationalism, particularly when it became a major part of the curriculum of the first Finnish language schools, which did not open until the 1870s. Sibelius, from a Swedish-speaking family, did not know Finnish until he attended the first of these schools, providentially located in his hometown. In the process of learning Finnish he fell under the spell of this epic, which inspired several of his works.

One of them is the set of four tone poems collectively known as the "Four Legends," "Lemminkäinen Symphony," or "Legends of Lemminkäinen." These were premiered on April 13, 1896. Sibelius, who was very self-critical and habitually revised and polished his works after their first performance, set to work revising the Legends. Eventually he banned then (aside from permitting their performance at a commemorative concert) but they became well-known after his death.

Some music of this song is found in the original version final movement of the Legends, Lemminkäinen's Journey Homeward (Lemminkäisen poluu kotitiienoille), but was excised by the time the revised version was performed. It is not known whether the song was composed during the work on the Legends, or whether Sibelius took the fanfares and the melody from the suite for use in the song, whose original title was Lemminkäinen's Song (Lemminkäisen laulu).

The text of the song is about Lemminkäinen departing to meet his love. The music is full of ardor and irrepressible spirit, and sounds as if it could have been an excerpt from a late-Romantic opera.

Later Sibelius published A Song for Lemminkäinen as the first of Three Songs for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 31. However, this grouping is merely one of convenience; though they make a convincing set, the three items in this opus number were all written separately as independent pieces.

© Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide

2.Har du mod? (Have you courage?)

This is a brief, bright, and stirring march song. In common with many of Sibelius' shorter pieces and patriotic items, it is in a straightforward musical style rather than the austere and often subtle style associated with his symphonic music.

The text is by Josef Julius Wecksell (1838 - 1907) who, like Sibelius, was an ethnic Swede. Sibelius set several poems by Wecksell, culminating in this vigorous chorus with orchestra.

The message of the Swedish language poem has some similarities to Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If...in that it asks a youth if he has courage and a steady mind and spirit." Wecksell's poem also asks the youth to join his brothers, and so seems also to be an appeal for military enlistment.

It is a brief song, depending on which version is performed. The original 1904 version clocks at about a minute and a half. It is for full orchestra, with a few short measures of introduction. The orchestra plays a strictly utility role, merely supporting the chorus. The march rhythm is pronounced, with strong drum and cymbal on the off-beats. The 1911 - 1912 revision makes the song somewhat less brusque in tone by adding a longer introduction in a gentler contrasting mood.

Sibelius made several arrangements of it, and published it as one of his Three Songs for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 31. However, in common with the other two numbers in that collection, it was written independently and was grouped with the others only for convenience.

© Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide

3.Atenarnes sång (Song of the Athenians)

The last year of the 1800s was one in which most of Sibelius' music was devoted to the awakening Finnish patriotism. Finland had been granted a considerable degree of autonomy after Russia captured it from Sweden in the Great Northern War of 1710 to 1721. It had the status of a Grand Duchy and was granted its own parliament (an institution that did not exist at all in Great Russia), considerable press freedom, its own school system teaching in Swedish and (after the 1870s) in Finnish, and even its own monetary system.

In 1890 Tsar Alexander III abolished Finland's independent postal system and announced plans to replace Finland's monetary system with Russia's. His successor, Nicholas II, began to revive Alexander's plans and in 1898 appointed General Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov as Governor-General of Finland to begin increasing Russian domination of the province.

On February 15, 1899, Bobrikov published a manifesto reducing the power of the Finnish Senate and restricting freedom of speech and assembly. This increased the activity of "Young Finland," a group of the country's younger artists and writers.

With the premiere of his First Symphony looming, Sibelius composed this choral song to be performed at the same concert, and to make a patriotic statement. His text is from Dexippos, a play by Viktor Rydberg (1838-1895) set in Athens in 267 A.D.

The subject of the play is the struggle between the Athenians, who represent civilization and culture, and the "barbaric" Persians. The text used in the poem is in praise of the self-sacrifice of youths who give themselves to battle for their country's freedom.

Though Finland and Russia are never mentioned, it is as clear now as it must have been to Sibelius' Helsinki audience at its premiere on April 26, 1899, that it is the Finns who are represented by the Athenians and the Russians who are cast as the Persians. The audience went wild for it. As Bobrikov continued his crack-down on personal freedom, the song became hugely popular and became a kind of anthem for the Finnish nationalist movement.

Sibelius made numerous arrangements of it for various different forces. The original versions is for boys' and men's voices, double woodwind, the full orchestral brass section, percussion, and double bass. It is in E major and is a stirring, resolute piece, ideally suited to its role as an unofficial anthem for independence. It was as much for this song (and other works) as for the international success of Finlandia that the Finnish parliament, after the country did gain independence, granter Sibelius a lifetime annuity for services to Finnish freedom.

A few years later Sibelius published it (along with A Song for Lemminkäinen and Have you Courage?) under the title Three Songs for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 31. However, all three were written independently as separate pieces, and each calls for a different choral and orchestral ensemble.

© All Music Guide