In 1892 Jean Sibelius married Aino Järnefelt (daughter of one of the leaders of the Finnish national movement). In the spirit of the then fashionable “Karelianism”, the newlyweds visited places connected with the epic events of Kalevala. Sibelius recorded folk melodies as well, but above all he imbued his senses with the powerful spirit of a glorious mythological time that corresponded with his own spiritual aspirations. Returning from a honeymoon spent in Karelia, the composer was commissioned in 1893 by the Viborg Student Association of the University of Helsinki to write music for the theatrical presentation of ‘living’ historical paintings at a charity event – a fundraiser ‘to promote the education of the people of the province of Viborg and to improve social and cultural life’. At the time, many Finns considered education the best means of preserving cultural identity in the situation of Russian political domination in the country.

Sibelius responded immediately to the invitation and quickly wrote the incidental music, which consisted of an overture, 8 “pictures” and 2 intermezzi. The “pictures” represent events in the history of Karelia between 1293 and 1811 and end patriotically with the magnificent arrangement the composer made of the Finnish national anthem. It was premiered on November 13^th, 1893 at the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki with the Helsinki Orchestral Society conducted by the composer. The audience was ecstatic. Sibelius noted in a letter to his brother Christian: ‘There was such a din that not a note of the music could be heard – everyone was on their feet, applauding with deafening shouts’. About a week after the event, he included an 8-movement orchestral suite made up of incidental music in a concerto. A few days later – on 26 November – he conducted the overture and three of the movements at a popular concert.  When he sold the rights to publish these four pieces to the publisher Fazer in 1899, he published them as Op. 10 Karelia Overture and Op. 11 Karelia Suite. The suite is in 3 parts: the Intermezzo – the Ballade – Alla marcia (Alla march). The second movement, Ballade, which will be played in the concert programme, is based on the fourth picture from the original score, Carl Knutsson in Vyborg Castle (1446). The elegy music conveys the solitude of the King of Sweden and Finland in the castle. Temporarily dethroned, lost in memories and reflections, he listens to the song of the bard… Sibelius used motifs from a Karelian folk melody. Magnificent clarinet and English horn solos (symbolizing the singer’s voice) intertwine with the dense strings, bassoons and oboes over the rhythm of the ancient minuet.