This major work was commissioned by Five Lakes Silver Band and its Musical Director Christopher Ward in February 2024, and is featured on the band's CD Resurget Cineribus. The music is based on the hymn tune found in Sibelius’ famous tone poem (Op. 26). While the only source material used in Metamorphosis on ‘Finlandia’ is the hymn itself as opposed to any of the developmental music found in the tone poem, it does also seek to depict the strife of the Finnish people against the censorship of the Russian Empire. It is therefore both rousing and turbulent at various times.
Metamorphosis on ‘Finlandia’ commences with a quartet playing a full statement of the hymn in its simplest form, featuring a solo flugel. This leads into a sprightly 6/8 section where a fanfare-like figure proclaims the theme. The music in this section is at times unstable and off-kilter as references to the hymn come and go, often in a very chromatic or dissonant form – a reflection of the struggles that the Finnish people went through. Despite this, there is still a sense of optimism.
A somewhat reflective slower section follows, featuring another full rendition of the hymn, with a number of solo voices taking up the tune. This is followed by several cadenzas – for cornet, trombone, Eβ bass, and Bβ bass, which represent different voices speaking out against the oppression of the Finnish people. This leads into an energetic final movement before a resounding proclamation of the hymn in its full glory. A return to the fanfare heard earlier in the work brings the piece to a glorious conclusion.
To listen to a recording of Five Lakes Silver Band performing the work please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJJF6asD2k
Duration: Approx. 13.15 minutes
Difficulty Level: 1st Section +
PDF download includes parts and score.
Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk (UK) or www.cimarronmusic.com (USA)
Instrumentation:
Soprano Cornet Eb
Solo Cornet Bb
Repiano Cornet Bb
2nd Cornet Bb
3rd Cornet Bb
Flugel Horn Bb
Solo Horn Eb
1st Horn Eb
2nd Horn Eb
1st Baritone Bb
2nd Baritone Bb
1st Trombone Bb
2nd Trombone Bb
Bass Trombone
Euphonium Bb
Bass Eb
Bass Bb
Timpani
Percussion 1-3