Songs

The collection of the main solo songs by Armas Järnefelt was accelerated by a donation made by his son, Arvi, in Stockholm to the University of Helsinki: dozens of previously unpublished manuscripts thus found their way home to Finland. Sweden was father Järnefelt’s second home, since he spent a couple of decades as conductor of the Royal Opera in Stockholm. He concentrated almost exclusively on solo songs, the reason no doubt being that his father-in-law was Jean Sibelius, a master of large-scale form. Järnefelt’s vocal lyrics spring from the National-Romantic ethos nurtured on the archaic rune-singing of the national epic, the Kalevala, and the distant lands of Karelia. The folk-like elements of his youthful songs were in time joined by Impressionistic and in places even Expressionistic timbres. This collection is edited by Matti Tuloisela. Contents: Aallon kehtolaulu / Vågens vaggsång / Der Welle Wiegenlied • Am stillen Dorfe erhebt sich • Berceuse / Kehtolaulu • En spel- och dansvisa • Hämärä / Skymning / Dämmerung • I solnedgången / Im Sonnenuntergang • Isänmaan kasvot • Kanteleelle • Kehtolaulu / Vaggsång (Liekku liiku) • Kehtolaulu / Vaggsång (Hiljaa, hiljaa) • Laula, laula! • Leivo / Lärkan • Liina / Lina / Line • Milloin muistelet minua? / Säg, när minnes du mig? / Sag’, gedenkst Du meiner? • När alla klockor klämtat tolf / Wenn alle Uhren zwölf geschlagen • Sinä / Du • Solsken / Sonnenschein • Sunnuntaina / Söndag • Suvirannalla / Sommarnatt på stranden • Titania • Toivoni / Önskan • Uneksijan laulu elämälle / En drömmarens sång till livet / Eines Träumers Sang an das Leben • Unelma / Dröm • Viel’ ois virttä tieossani / Än en visa vill jag sjunga