Jean Sibelius was a violinist by training, and it is not at all surprising that as his creative career unfolded he saw fit to produce several works that feature his own instrument in a central role. Besides the famous Violin Concerto there are two Serenades, a Romance (actually an orchestration of the Romance, Op. 78/2, for violin and piano), the Two Pieces, Op. 77, and, most important, Six Humoresques.

The Humoresques, which for publication were divided into two groups, Opus 87 and Opus 89, were all composed during 1917 following the completion of the second version of the Fifth Symphony. World War One was difficult for Sibelius and his household, and during the two or three years on either side of 1920 the composer found it necessary to supplement his income by producing reams of commercially viable music. Much of this output, e.g. the Marches of Opus 91 or the Suite champêtre, Op. 98b, is undeniably disappointing. The Humoresques, however, are some of his best material. However sadly neglected they may have been during the last century, they should certainly be considered musical achievements on a level equal to or even surpassing the famous Concerto. By way of subtlety and charm they are virtually unrivalled in Sibelius' output.

The Opus 87 pair of Humoresques call for a chamber orchestra of strings, woodwinds, two horns, and timpani. Both require extraordinary agility on the part of its performer, but of a kind entirely different than the mid-nineteenth century gypsy outbursts that mark the Violin Concerto. Sibelius' ever-increasing interest in achieving a varied and colorful harmonic flavor is evident here: the consistent use of B natural within the D minor context of the First Humoresque (Commodo) seems to look forward to a similar reliance on the Dorian scale throughout the Sixth Symphony. Considerable agility is required to execute the pyrotechnical scale-work of the D major Humoresque within the graceful confines of the piece's cross-rhythms and hemiolas.

For Opus 89 Sibelius reduced the orchestral accompaniment considerably. The first and second Humoresques of this set call for strings alone, while the remaining pair admit only a handful of woodwinds into the arena. The first piece of the group, the Humoresque No. 3, is one of the high-points of the entire collection, and is one of Sibelius' most immediately compelling creations. An ensemble of hauntingly muted strings paves the way, Alla gavotte, for the strangely melancholy virtuoso fieldwork of the gypsy soloist. This is not a traditional dance, however, as even the lower strings eventually resign themselves to the purely textural world and sonic effect of harmonics as the violinist moves further and further away (psychologically, at least) from the ensemble.

Humoresque No. 4 (Op. 89, No. 2, that is) is perhaps the most traditional of all, recalling something of the delicate flavor of mid-nineteenth century musical miniatures. The andantino tune, however, is attractive enough within the slithering G minor context, and the soloist, for once, is afforded the opportunity to indulge in a more traditionally exhibitionistic display.

Sibelius marks the Fifth Humoresque (Op. 89, No. 3) "Commodo," a marking also used for the First. The opening bars of the Fifth Humoresque seem at first to be a continuation of the G minor tonality that dominated the previous two pieces, but the music soon slips down into a warmer E flat major. The final Humoresque (Op. 89, No. 4) resumes G minor with great melancholy. The astute violinist will find that the seemingly clear-cut contours of this delicately-framed piece are a formidable musical challenge indeed.

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2 Humoresques for Violin and Orchestra, Op.87

Written during 1917, a busy and unhappy time for Jean Sibelius (the former because he was still wrestling with the troublesome Symphony No. 5, the latter because of the effect that World War I and the Russian Revolution were having on his beloved Finland), the Humoresques (2) for violin and orchestra, Op. 87, are the first of six works by that title by Sibelius. They are not unprecedented in Sibelius' catalog, however. Indeed, the famous Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, precedes them, as do a pair of Serenades for violin and orchestra, Op. 69 (1913), and two so-called Ernest Melodies for violin or cello and orchestra, Op. 77 (1914-1915). The Concerto was proving to be a rampant success, and Sibelius was practical enough to mine the vein while still available to him—plus, a former would-be virtuoso violinist himself, he found it fun to thrust his own instrument in the spotlight (for the record, Sibelius, despite the claims made by certain adoring biographers, was never better than a B/C-grade violinist—literally, as his school records tell).

The Humoresques, Op.87—actually Op. 87b; Op. 87a is the now-forgotten Impromptu for orchestra, also of 1917—differ from the Humoresques (4), Op. 89, that followed in that they are scored for violin and a full orchestra of strings and winds, whereas the Op. 89 bunch are written for an orchestra of just strings. But the winds are used quite sparingly, so that the effect of the Humoresques, Op. 87b, is quite different than that of the dark-sounding, wind-heavy Concerto of a dozen years earlier. The word "humoresque" implies something in a lighter vein; in both the Humoresques, Op. 87b, Sibelius takes this to mean music of an almost scherzando character.

The first Humoresque is marked commodo (leisurely, moderate) and is cast in a nice, modally inflected key of G (the key signature has just one flat, which would normally be a sign for F major or D minor; but neither of those two tonal centers is in effect in the piece). Lydian-mode G major at the beginning, the Humoresque ends convincingly in the minor mode. Skipping eighth notes take turns with rich melody on the solo violin's dark lowest string; and there are enough technically difficult outbursts to prevent most student violinists from being comfortable with this Humoresque.

Op. 87b/2 is an Allegro assai in bright D major. Of the winds, only horns are present now. Though very different in tone, the mechanism that drives this Humoresque is very much like the one that drives the finale of the Symphony No. 5: quick-paced, oscillating, interlocking sixteenth notes in several simultaneous layers. The solo violin darts nimbly up and down the fingerboard as the orchestral strings saw vigorously (but not necessarily loudly!) away.

© Blair Johnston, Rovi

4 Humoresques, for violin and orchestra, Op.89

These four pieces are compliments to the two Humoresques, Op. 87; in fact, the two collections are often performed together, as they were at their premiere on November 24, 1919 in Helsinki, by violin soloist Paul Cherkassky and the Helsinki Orchestra conducted by Sibelius himself. All six were written in 1917, the year after Sibelius had completed the second version of his Symphony No. 5. It was a comparatively fallow year for the composer; other than the Humoresques, he only produced a set of songs, Op. 90, some marches, and a handful of other short pieces.

Of the four Op. 89 pieces, the first two, both in the key of G minor, are scored for string orchestra along with the soloist. No. 3 in E-flat major adds pairs of flutes, clarinets and bassoons to the strings, while No. 4 in G minor drops the clarinets from the compliment used in No. 3.

The composer's own comments about the Humoresques are a bit overly dramatic, but illustrate the strength of his feelings about the works. He saw the music as conceived "on a grand scale" (which, if one takes the Opp. 87 and 89 in together, they are), and felt they reflected "the anguish of existence . . . fitfully lit up by the sun." Of Sibelius' "occasional" pieces, those shorter pieces he wrote so prolifically throughout his life, the Humoresques deserve to be much better known than they are. Although they are by no means so difficult for the violinist as his Violin Concerto, they do call for a skilled and sensitive soloist.

The Op. 89 pieces are full of charm and felicitous touches. No. 1 is a restrained, wistful gavotte, with muted strings providing a sighing background for the soloist. It is graceful and occasionally playful. Equally graceful is No. 2, with its double stops and pizzicatos expressively decorating the soloist's melodic line. No. 3 features a very catchy, folk-like melody, with effective and humorous support from the orchestra. Special note should be taken of the delightful statement of the main tune entirely in harmonics around the midpoint of the piece. The soloist takes on a more dominant role in the concise No. 4, which brings Op. 89 to an oddly tense conclusion.



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