This collection of songs came in the latter part of the composer's career, at a time when his mastery in the orchestral realm was nearing its zenith, with the Fourth Symphony two years away and the tone poem The Bard coming not long afterward. Yet, this collection, while offering several choice items is not quite on the level of some of his earlier efforts in the vocal genre, like Op. 36 set of Six Songs (1899) and especially the Op. 35 Two Songs, which despite their lower opus number, were written in the period 1907-08.

These eight songs of Op. 57 are settings of text by the Swedish poet and painter Ernst Abraham Josephson (1851-1906). Most of Sibelius' more than 100 songs used Swedish texts, the composer's first language, rather than Finnish, the language of his native land. Among the better items in this set is "En blomma stod vid vägen" (A flower stood by the wayside), No. 2, a rather simple creation but melodically charming and quite atmospheric. "Jag är ett träd" (The bare tree), No. 5, is possibly the strongest entry here, featuring finely-imagined chordal accompaniment on the piano.

The last song, "Näcken" (The water sprite), is another worthwhile item, which again features strong accompaniment. "Älvan och snigeln" (Älvan and the snail), the first in the set, "Kvarnhjulet" (The millwheel), the third, "Maj" (May) the fourth, and "Vänskapens blomma" (The flower of friendship), the seventh, are all worthwhile but of lesser interest here. "Hertig Magus" (Duke Magus), No. 6, is among the less distinctive songs of the composer. Overall, this set offers music of mixed artistic value from a composer whose efforts in the realm generally deserve greater attention.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi