# Jean sibelius the master of musical storytelling



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

I know that this thread is little cofusing, but i think that Jean Sibelius is best at making the listeners feel these kinda effects " now the piece has really began"

"We are finally there"
" We made it"

That kinda effects i know that it can sound confusing.

For example the section between 2:54-3:43 makes me very strongly feel that " Something is getting closer and closer"
2:54-3:43
The section between 8:00-8:40 gives me shivers and i get the feel that " we are finally home"






When the flutes come in at 6:13 it really makes me feel like " Somehing big has began"
When the flutes join to violin with that same phrase at 15:22, i get a really strong feeling of " We made it/relief"
( I also think that its one of the top 3 moments in all music.)


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Note, i am an intuitive thinker so that might be one of the reasons why i feel that kinda stuff while listeing to music.
75% of the world population are sensory thinkers while 25% are intuitives.

So my post can be really confusing for sensory thinkers.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Hei Kaveri,

For some reason the Karelian Suite has been running through my head all day.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I love story telling!

Allow me just one example!






Read this slowly while listening to this piece, going along with the emotions...

And there he was, our young hero Dmitri Shostakovich in the dead of night. Clad in armor and wielding a great magical sword and shield, he approaches the evil Castle of Shadows. It is a terrible place, full of darkness, chaos, and fear. But he must enter, if he wishes to save his Maiden, who is locked up by the Shadows. He will be courageous for his love.

Shostakovich enters, and all is quiet, when he begins to hear sinister jeers and laughs. Evil spirits of shadow emerge and dart to and fro all around him like a fog, surrounding our hero.

"Begone, you creatures of darkness!" he makes his first move into the black fog, a slash of light into the air with his sword.

But he misses them, for they move so quickly. The spirits continue to jeer and sneer, and Shostakovich is enraged.

"Stand and fight!!" he dives into the shadows, slashing to and fro, depending on his shield to keep him from being overpowered by the spirits...

Meanwhile, the beautiful Maiden sits in her locked room, alone and afraid. She stares out her barred window with painful longing into the night.

"Oh, who will save me from this awful imprisonment? Won't my Shostakovich come? Is there any hope left? ... He must come! No one else can win! I am forever true to him, and I will hold onto him to the very end... please come swiftly, my love..."

Back to our hero, he has made his way deep into the castle, and now there is no turning back. He continues to be harassed by these evil spirits encircling and jeering at him, but he has gained confidence.

"Release my maiden, or I will destroy you all!" He again dives headlong into the shadows, slashing everywhere.

Suddenly, the shadows converge, and grow into a great, single monster of shadow. Its eyes glow red, and it looms over our hero. It bears down on him, and with only his shield keeping him from certain death, Shostakovich is pushed closer and closer to a wall.

Could this be the end for our hero?? How can he escape this horrible creature?? It's nearly overpowered him!

With the last of all his courage, Shostakovich resists one more time, and with all the power within him he slashes his powerful sword on the crown of the shadow monster's head with a great CRASH!

Silence.

Shostakovich takes steps forward, gravely victorious.

The fog of shadow fades, and before him stands a great door, no longer defended. He approaches and opens it with caution.

But inside on the ground lies his dear Maiden.

She is dead.

He has come too late. He has failed.

Tears come into our hero's eyes. After everything, how could it all come to this!

"Oh, my love!" he sobs, and runs to her lifeless body, embracing her.

"Oh my love! You are gone from me! I will never love another. But now we must part forever... good-bye..." tears on his cheeks, he kisses her pale lips one last time.

Suddenly, the evil spell upon her is broken, and the impossible becomes reality. A light comes into the Maiden's face, and she opens her eyes! She's alive!

Shostakovich can hardly believe his eyes, and embraces her more tightly than ever before.

"You saved me! I'm forever yours!" she cries in joy.

"And I am yours too! But we can't stay here! We must leave this awful place, and leave it forever!" Our hero helps the Maiden to her feet, and they run all the way through the castle to its very entrance. They escape into the unknown, but are together forevermore!

The end of the story of our great hero, the young Dmitri Shostakovich.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I love story telling!
> 
> Allow me just one example!
> 
> ...


That's very detailed.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

How DARE you use WORDS to describe ABSOLUTE music?!?!?!!111 

No, just kidding! What an incredible description, Huilunsoittaja! I thoroughly enjoyed it!


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Xaltotun said:


> How DARE you use WORDS to describe ABSOLUTE music?!?!?!!111
> 
> No, just kidding! What an incredible description, Huilunsoittaja! I thoroughly enjoyed it!


Pretty much all of his pieces are full of emotion&color!
But is there really any music which is purely absolute?
The meaning of music and art in general is to make us feel/evoke an emotion/emotions from us.
The composer must have gotten his/her inspiration from somewere, and that inspiration was evoked by somekinda emotion etc...


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

jani said:


> Pretty much all of his pieces are full of emotion&color!
> But is there really any music which is purely absolute?
> The meaning of music and art in general is to make us feel/evoke an emotion/emotions from us.
> The composer must have gotten his/her inspiration from somewere, and that inspiration was evoked by somekinda emotion etc...


Yep, you're right, let's not get into the absolute/program music debate here, I just couldn't resist taking a silly jab against an imaginary, hypothetical, arrogant, absolute music supporter, in response to Huilunsoittaja's wonderful and poetic story. It would be rather heartless if someone really reacted that way against such a fine story, wouldn't it?


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Would anyone be shocked to know that I think Sibelius is a great musical storyteller? 

I think that Sibelius's vivid imagination is certainly a factor here, but also, I think his power as a storyteller is probably best attributed to his skill for structure and cohesion.

That is, he writes music as if it were a story in and of itself. The "episode"s within the "story" logically link together and often build toward an inevitable climax.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Tapkaara said:


> Would anyone be shocked to know that I think Sibelius is a great musical storyteller?
> 
> I think that Sibelius's vivid imagination is certainly a factor here, but also, I think his power as a storyteller is probably best attributed to his skill for structure and cohesion.
> 
> That is, he writes music as if it were a story in and of itself. The "episode"s within the "story" logically link together and often build toward an inevitable climax.


This is why Sibelius is such a disciple of Beethoven - or rather, of the "Eroica" tradition.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Xaltotun said:


> Yep, you're right, let's not get into the absolute/program music debate here, I just couldn't resist taking a silly jab against an imaginary, hypothetical, arrogant, absolute music supporter, in response to Huilunsoittaja's wonderful and poetic story. It would be rather heartless if someone really reacted that way against such a fine story, wouldn't it?


Stravinsky would have hated it.

Not that I care. :devil:


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

jani said:


> That's very detailed.


I invented the story a few years ago, the first times I was listening to this piece (I copied this out of a record I made of it about 2 years ago). Also about 2 years ago, I did a pretty extensive research of Shostakovich's early life (I wrote a realistic fiction novel about that part of his life), and in the books I read, the 1st symphony had an enormous impact on his life. Much of what I read surrounded the creation of the symphony, many of Shostakovich's setbacks in the years around its making, and the particular struggle he had in creating his first major orchestral work. It was extremely fascinating. In case you all did or didn't notice, I'd like to point out that Shostakovich alludes to WAGNER in this symphony (did you catch the famous Ring chord progression 4:30?), and in particular Siegfried in the 3rd mvmt of this symphony (as a book informed me). That opera is, after all, about the man Siegfried saving the maiden, Brunhilde.

Let your imagination... _go!_


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