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Nightride and Sunrise

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Nightride and Sunrise
Tone poem by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1913)
Native nameÖinen ratsastus ja auringonnousu
Opus55
Composed1908 (1908)
PublisherLienau (1909)[1]
Duration20 mins.[1]
Premiere
Date23 January 1909 (1909-01-23)[1]
LocationSaint Petersburg, Russian Empire
ConductorAlexander Siloti
Performers?
A winter sunrise in Finland. Sibelius mentioned a sunrise he saw during a sleigh ride as a source of inspiration.

Nightride and Sunrise (in Finnish: Öinen ratsastus ja auringonnousu; in German: Nächtlicher Ritt und Sonnenaufgang),[1] Op. 55, is a single-movement tone poem for orchestra written in 1908 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

The work represents a subjective, spiritual experience of nature by "an ordinary man." It unfolds in three contrasting parts: a galloping section whose length and dogged determination produce one of Sibelius's strangest utterances; a brief hymnic transition in the strings; and an exquisite Northern sunrise whose first rays emerge in the horns.

Although poorly received by audiences initially, the work has gained importance over time. Its repetitive rhythmic patterns and gradual development of musical ideas are characteristics that foreshadow minimalism. The composition is known for expression, artful construction, and psychological weight. The subdued finale was called one of the most magical moments in all of 20th-century music by the American composer Jonathan Blumhofer.[2]

History

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Sibelius gave different accounts of the inspiration for this music. One, told to Karl Ekman, was that it was inspired by his first visit to the Colosseum in Rome, in 1901. Another account, given in his later years to his secretary Santeri Levas, was that the inspiration was a sleigh ride from Helsinki to Kerava "at some time around the turn of the century", during which he saw a striking sunrise.[3]

Sibelius completed the score by November 1908 and sent the manuscript to Alexander Siloti, who conducted the first performance, in Saint Petersburg, in 1909. The reviews of the first performance were unfavorable, except for one in Novy Russ, and one reviewer called Siloti's conducting "slack and monotonous". A writer for Novoye Vremya asked, "Who is actually riding, and why?" Siloti had made cuts to the score.[4]

Orchestration

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Sibelius scored the work for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns (doubled if possible in the Sunrise), 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, triangle and strings.

A typical performance takes about fourteen minutes.

Structure

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The composition begins with a dramatic burst from the brass and percussion, followed by a brisk, trotting figure in the strings, reminiscent of Schubert but with more harmonic instability and color. This motive persists for a significant portion of the piece, with the first melody appearing about three minutes in, characterized by a bleak, simple rising figure followed by a descending scale.

As the piece progresses, the initial rhythmic figure in the strings continues, eventually blending with the melody. A notable transition occurs when Sibelius reorders the principal melody’s notes, creating a rich, Slavic chorale texture. This transformation shifts the music from ominous to warm and familiar.

The final third of “Nightride and Sunrise” builds with increasing confidence and splendor, featuring chorales and climaxes. The piece concludes with a magical moment as a crescendo in the strings abruptly reveals a soft E-flat major triad, which fades away gently.[2]

Discography

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The British conductor Sir Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of Nightride and Sunrise in 1936 for His Masters Voice (released in 2015 by Warner Classics).[1] The sortable table below contains this and other commercially available recordings:

No. Conductor Ensemble Rec.[a] Time Recording venue Label Ref.
1 Sir Adrian Boult (1) BBC Symphony Orchestra 1936 13:37 Abbey Road Studios Warner Classics
2 Sir Anthony Collins London Symphony Orchestra (1) 1955 14:26 Kingsway Hall Beulah
3 Eugen Jochum Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 1955 13:31 Herkulessaal Deutsche Grammophon
4 Sir Adrian Boult (2) London Philharmonic Orchestra 1956 14:11 Walthamstow Assembly Hall Somm
5 Georges Prêtre New Philharmonia Orchestra (1) 1967 13:27 Walthamstow Town Hall RCA Red Seal
6 Antal Doráti London Symphony Orchestra (2) 1969 15:15 Abbey Road Studios EMI Classics
7 Horst Stein L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande 1971 14:23 Victoria Hall Decca
8 Sir Alexander Gibson Royal Scottish National Orchestra 1977 15:02 Glasgow City Halls Chandos
9 Sir Simon Rattle Philharmonia Orchestra (2) 1981 14:28 Abbey Road Studios EMI Warner Classics
10 Kurt Sanderling Berlin Symphony Orchestra 1983 16:11 Christuskirche, Berlin [de] Brilliant Classics
11 Neeme Järvi (1) Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1) 1985 15:32 Gothenburg Concert Hall BIS
12 Jukka-Pekka Saraste (1) Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1988 13:32 Kulttuuritalo RCA Red Seal
13 Vassily Sinaisky Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra 1991 14:15 Mosfilm Studios Brilliant Classics
14 Neeme Järvi (2) Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2) 1995 14:49 Gothenburg Concert Hall Deutsche Grammophon
15 Paavo Järvi Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra 1996 14:41 Stockholm Concert Hall Virgin Classics
16 Leif Segerstam Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra 1998 16:40 Hyvinkääsali [fi] Ondine
17 Sir Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra (3) 1998 17:01 Walthamstow Assembly Hall RCA Red Seal
18 Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2) Toronto Symphony Orchestra 1998 14:19 Massey Hall Finlandia
19 Osmo Vänskä Lahti Symphony Orchestra 2001 17:20 Sibelius Hall BIS
20 Pietari Inkinen New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 2007 16:38 Michael Fowler Centre Naxos

Notes, references, and sources

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Notes
References
  1. ^ a b c d e Dahlström 2003, p. 256.
  2. ^ a b Blumhofer, J.: Rethinking the Repertoire #8 – Sibelius’s “Night Ride and Sunrise”. The Arts Fuse, March 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Tawaststjerna 1986, pp. 100–101.
  4. ^ Tawaststjerna 1986, p. 96-97.
Sources
  • Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
  • Tawaststjerna, Erik W. (1986). Sibelius, Volume II: 1904–1914. Translated by Robert Layton. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0571247738.
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