September 21, 2015

  • More Sibelius Incidental Music

     Sibelius: Pelleas et Melisande
    Pia Pajala, soprano. Sari Nordqvist, mezzo-soprano.
    Turku Philharmonic Orchestra/Leif Segerstam
    Naxos 8.573301
    Total Time:  57:49
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Leif Segerstam’s survey of Sibelius’ incidental music enters somewhat more familiar territory now with the more extensive selections from Pellease et Melisande (1905), the most extensive work of the genre the composer undertook at that point.  The album here is also filled out with five miniature pieces exploring the composer’s arranging and orchestration styles.

    The subject matter for Maeterlinck’s work had already been the subject of Debussy’s opera.  The first decade of the 20th Century saw a number of musical explorations of the story, most notably a larger ultra-romantic symphonic poem by Arnold Schoenberg, written before he moved on to explore twelve-tone composition.  One would expect Sibelius to stay closer to his own aesthetic rather than shift into the more symbolist approaches.  The incidental music (1905) was his most ambitious project of this type and was commissioned by the Swedish Theatre.  Today, the music, still rarely heard, finds its way into the concert hall in the form of a suite the composer adapted.  There are 10 pieces spread across the five acts, usually with extended preludes serving to provide some continuity and set mood.  The first of these begins with a hymn-like opening notable for interesting harmonic shifts and the sort of back and forth dialogue between winds and strings adding to the dramatic flair of the music.  Thematic ideas recur to help provide unity.  A beautiful English Horn version is part of the gorgeous central piece for Act one. The dark colors of the following “Adagio”, with low winds fluttering in menacing ways under the waves of the strings and primary thematic material is often stunningly effective.  The Act two prelude is a delightful waltz.  Act three includes a song by Melisande which sounds more like a delicately-orchestrated art song, similar to Mahler at times.  The fourth act prelude features a nice stylized romantic folk dance, though the harmony might be a bit “modern” at times.  In the music for scene two in this act, a cello takes over the thematic material adding a different character to the music.  The final “Andante” has its roots in Grieg’s somber incidental music for Ase in Peer Gynt.

    The album is filled out with five brief pieces beginning with a 1904 scene-setting piece with contrasting sections (eventually adapted as a piano work, Dance-Intermezzo, Op, 45, no. 2).  It certainly has a nod to Wagner in its chromaticism.  Also included are a couple of waltzes from 1921 arranged from piano pieces and with a foot in the latter 19th Century.  A duet is at the pastorale, Autrefois.  A final Morceau romantique (1925) was composed as a benefit work connected with the Mannerheim League of Child Welfare.

    Segerstam has a wonderful way of shaping these pieces often tending to let them unfold a bit more slowly at times.  It allows the listener to really hear the delicate string writing, rich harmonic ideas, and orchestral approaches of the composer.  All of which are parallel explorations that will receive full flower in the large-scale symphonic pieces.  The series so far has revealed a great many of Sibelian minutiae, but for those who love the composer’s music, there is still much to discover here and enjoy.