Impromptu (Sibelius)
Choral piece with orchestra by Jean Sibelius / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Impromptu, Op. 19, is a single-movement work for female choir and orchestra written in 1902 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the Swedish poet Viktor Rydberg's poem Unge hellener (Young Hellenics), premiered in Helsinki on 8 March 1902, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society and an amateur choir. The Impromptu was the middle item a program that also included two other first performances: the Overture in A minor (JS 144), which served as the opener; and the Second Symphony (Op. 43).[4][1]
Impromptu | |
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Choral piece by Jean Sibelius | |
Opus | 19 |
Text |
|
Language | Swedish |
Composed | 1902 (1902) |
Publisher | Breitkopf & Härtel (1912)[2] |
Duration | 7 mins. (orig. 6 mins.)[3] |
Premiere | |
Date | 8 March 1902 (1902-03-08)[1] |
Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
Performers | Helsinki Philharmonic Society |
Sibelius extensively revised the Impromptu in the spring of 1910, reducing the instrumentation and altering both the beginning and ending of the piece, the former of which now incorporated a second Rydberg poem, Bacchospräster (The Priests of Bacchus).[2][5] This version of the Impromptu received its premiere in Helsinki on 29 March 1912, with Sibelius conducting the Philharmonic Society;[6] "Nuori Laulu" and the Arbetets vänner [sv] female choir sang the choral part.[2]