Sibelius, Jean: Kullervo

“I am now working on a new symphony, entirely in the Finnish spirit,” wrote the 25-year-old Jean Sibelius to his fiancée Aino Järnefelt in April 1891. Just one year later, his work for Soprano and Baritone solo, Male Choir and Orchestra was completed. Instead of “Symphony”, Sibelius called it “Kullervo” . The “Finnish spirit” can be found in both the musical and textual material: some of the most important melodic elements were inspired by Finnish folk songs, and the heroic saga “Kullervo” is part of the Finnish national epic “Kalevala”.