# Sibelius 6th Symphony



## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

Sibelius 6th Symphony


Naeme Jarvi and Gothenburg SO 
Osmo Vanska and Lahti SO
Colin Davis and Boston SO
Leonard Bernstein and NYPO

I really don't know where to start about this strange, intense and truly staggering work. Having started listening to this symphony in June, I feel I can comprehend it somehow now, in November! Maybe it is the change in weather or maybe I had to give it time and remember the sound advice of trying not to expect the expected.

Even so I let the music wash over me metaphorically speaking having at the end memorised practically all the notes. Despite so many repeated listens this symphony simply slipped through my ears like water drooling down my head. Today I decided to listen to Bernstein, Davis and Jarvi's version rather than sticking to the Vanska's / Lahti. The excellent version by Jarvi did the trick.

A quick search about this symphony further revealed that this strange musical structure (to my ears) is based on the Dorian mode. It also has the half-diminished seventh or better the fabled 'Tristan chord' giving it a certain mysterious tone. The work is also mezzo-forte, i.e. played neither loud nor soft, being omnipresent from start to finish.

Some notable individuals such as Britten felt uneasy about its structure as noted by this excellent blog writer - 'How could you write a symphony that seemed, if anything, to retreat in musical time to an era before tonality, a symphony of weird modes and ambiguous scales?'

Sibelius' first three symphonies were great works for sure, the first full of melody, the second energetic and the third pointing towards the greatness ahead.

The fourth symphony, I listened to back in April, was monumental in form and structure, a truly remarkable work. The fifth symphony I enjoyed in May was the antithesis of the fourth, being full of memorable melodies and ending with such force as if the musical voyage was at its end.

And thinking about it, the fifth was the end of a journey.

The sixth symphony simply refuses to follow a traditional directional pattern. Sibelius' own description of the sixth is quite interesting - 'Whereas most other modern composers are engaged in manufacturing cocktails of every hue and description, I offer the public pure cold water'.

Today I felt this pure cold water as a pure two note motif structured on an astonishing rhythm that moves like a precise atomic clock into the meanders of one's own consciousness. The two note motif is layered into each movement and builds a structure so impressive it feels like being in a huge cathedral.

The first movement starts with a soothing melody that seems to speak in a soft voice 'I am here'. This soon leads to another pulsating melody that leads to a climactic high with pizzicato on the strings. The harp soon ends this marvelous musical structure and then this incessant rhythmic motif starts. It changes shape and form as it encapsulates the pulsating melody with passages of beauty and dread that finally finish in a sombre manner.

The second movement is even more elusive as it reflects the themes of the first movement in a more subdued way. The rhythm and motif is still there, the structure encapsulating everything is ever-present. The last minute of this movement is just pure as water.

The third movement makes it obvious that despite this work being in four movements it just is one single piece, one single thought process. One high note following by one lower note. The rhythm (especially on the excellent Jarvi recording) is so similar to the 'lub-dub' rhythm of the heart sounds heard from a stethoscope. The pulse was strangely the same rhythm as my own wrist pulse! The music feels like it keeps digging into the subconscious. In a similar manner to Sibelius' fourth symphony, this movement is key in understanding this symphony.

The final movement is a return to the melodies of the first. It feels like arriving at the end of a long and circular staircase that had no exit at its end. The view at the top of this towering structure is simply stunning. The strings play the metaphorical green land and the winds the blue sunny sky. And then the original pulsating melody gears up amid a lot of turbulence ending at the 6th minute (6th!) at a climactic high that just cannot be described.

It just feels like being liberated from an oppressive world, from a world of structure and form. From a world that is made up of order and highlights the beauty of each and every one of us. The resolution slowly ends in the sheer slow voice announcing the initial 'I am here' theme.

Is this it?

What this initial and ending theme means is for each and everyone of us to understand.

For each and everyone of us to give meaning to, our own personal meaning.

Mine is simply: 'I am'


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2016)

I'm listening to Segerstam's version on Youtube now (I'll have to try the Jarvi). I love this symphony - possibly more than the others, though 4th and 7th run it close.

Thanks for your enthusiasm and analysis. I agree that despite its having 4 movements, they blend into one seamlessly, yet so many mini melodies to memorise.

The opening is so mournful, but irresistible, and leads into something quite uplifting.


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