Sibelius: En Saga, Op.9

Introduction

En saga (English translation: A fairy tale or A saga) is a tone poem written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1892. After hearing Sibelius's choral work Kullervo, the conductor Robert Kajanus encouraged Sibelius to compose a purely orchestral piece, which turned out finally to be this work. The evolution of this work is rather vague although it is known that in 1890–1891 Sibelius had begun composing an octet for strings, flute and clarinet. The octet evolved into a septet by September 1892, and had acquired the title Ballet Scene No. 2 by November of that year. However, a letter to Adolf Paul dated 10 December 1892 stated that Sibelius had finished "the orchestral piece En saga".

Sibelius conducted the first performance on 16 February 1893 in Helsinki. In the context of an invitation from Ferruccio Busoni in 1902 to conduct the work in Berlin, Sibelius revised it, and Robert Kajanus conducted the first performance of the final version in Helsinki on 2 November 1902.

The title is in Swedish, Sibelius's mother tongue. He did not specify any story in it, although he did comment that any general literary inspiration was more from the Icelandic Eddas rather than the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic). In his later years, Sibelius recounted to his secretary Santeri Levas:

En saga is the expression of a state of mind. I had undergone a number of painful experiences at the time and in no other work have I revealed myself so completely. It is for this reason that I find all literary explanations quite alien.

It is scored for an orchestra including two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets (in B♭), two bassoons, four horns (in F), three trumpets (in F), three trombones, tuba, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.

The first commercial recording of the original version of En saga was with Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (BIS CD-800). Breitkopf & Härtel published Gregory Barrett's arrangement for septet of the original version of the orchestral tone poem in 2003. (MUSICA RARA MR 2283). The En Saga Septet was commercially recorded by the Turku Ensemble, Finland. This recording was released on the CD Turku Ensemble: Imaginary Landscapes by Pilfink Records in 2009.