Valse triste (Sibelius)
Encyclopedia
Valse triste Op. 44, No. 1, is a short orchestral work in waltz
form by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius
. It was originally part of the incidental music
he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt
's 1903 play Kuolema
(Death), but is far better known as a separate concert piece.
Sibelius wrote six pieces for the 2 December 1903 production of Kuolema. The first was titled Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto. In 1904 he revised the piece, which was performed in Helsinki
on 25 April of that year as Valse triste. It was an instant hit with the public, took on a life of its own, and remains one of Sibelius's signature pieces.
published the piece in 1905 as 'Op. 44'. However, because of the nature of the publishing contract, Sibelius saw relatively little money in terms of royalties from performances of Valse triste.
In 1906 Sibelius merged the second and third numbers of the incidental music into a single piece, which he renamed Scene with Cranes. This was posthumously published in 1973, as Op. 44, No. 2; Valse triste was retrospectively renumbered as Op. 44, No. 1.
The original version, presented in 1903 as Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto, has not survived.
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
form by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
. It was originally part of the incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt
Arvid Järnefelt
Arvid Järnefelt was a Finnish judge and writer.Arvid's parents were general and governor August Aleksander Järnefelt and Elisabeth Järnefelt .Arvid had nine siblings: Kasper, Erik, Ellida, Ellen, Armas, Aino, Hilja and Sigrid.Arvid Järnefelt married...
's 1903 play Kuolema
Kuolema
Kuolema is a drama by Arvid Järnefelt, first performed on 2 December 1903. He revised the work in 1911.The play is notable for its incidental music: a group of six compositions created by the author's brother-in-law, Jean Sibelius...
(Death), but is far better known as a separate concert piece.
Sibelius wrote six pieces for the 2 December 1903 production of Kuolema. The first was titled Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto. In 1904 he revised the piece, which was performed in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on 25 April of that year as Valse triste. It was an instant hit with the public, took on a life of its own, and remains one of Sibelius's signature pieces.
Background
The background to the music as it functions within the original play is expanded upon by the programme notes for the production:It is night. The son, who has been watching beside the bedside of his sick mother, has fallen asleep from sheer weariness, Gradually a ruddy light is diffused through the room: there is a sound of distant music: the glow and the music steal nearer until the strains of a valse melody float distantly to our ears. The sleeping mother awakens, rises from her bed and, in her long white garment, which takes the semblance of a ball dress, begins to move silently and slowly to and fro. She waves her hands and beckons in time to the music, as though she were summoning a crowd of invisible guests. And now they appear, these strange visionary couples, turning and gliding to an unearthly valse rhythm. The dying woman mingles with the dancers; she strives to make them look into her eyes, but the shadowy guests one and all avoid her glance. Then she seems to sink exhausted on her bed and the music breaks off. Presently she gathers all her strength and invokes the dance once more, with more energetic gestures than before. Back come the shadowy dancers, gyrating in a wild, mad rhythm. The weird gaiety reaches a climax; there is a knock at the door, which flies wide open; the mother utters a despairing cry; the spectral guests vanish; the music dies away. Death stands on the threshold.
Publication and later developments
Breitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
published the piece in 1905 as 'Op. 44'. However, because of the nature of the publishing contract, Sibelius saw relatively little money in terms of royalties from performances of Valse triste.
In 1906 Sibelius merged the second and third numbers of the incidental music into a single piece, which he renamed Scene with Cranes. This was posthumously published in 1973, as Op. 44, No. 2; Valse triste was retrospectively renumbered as Op. 44, No. 1.
The original version, presented in 1903 as Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto, has not survived.
In other media
- Wendy CarlosWendy CarlosWendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
created a synthesizer version of Valse triste for Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's film The ShiningThe Shining (film)The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
. The song was not used in the film, but it can be heard at the end of Making The Shining, a documentary by Kubrick's daughter about the shooting of the film. - The animated film Allegro Non TroppoAllegro non troppoAllegro Non Troppo is a 1976 Italian animated film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. Featuring six pieces of classical music, the film is a parody of Disney's Fantasia, though possibly more of a challenge to Fantasia. The classical pieces are set to color animation, ranging from comedy to deep tragedy...
used Valse triste in "Feline Fantasies", a segment about the ghost of a cat roaming around the ruins of the house it once inhabited. - Avant-garde filmmaker Bruce ConnerBruce ConnerBruce Conner was an American artist renowned for his work in assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography, among other disciplines.-Early life:...
directed an experimental film called Valse Triste (1977) using the Sibelius music. - An a capella arrangement of Valse triste was recorded by the Finnish vocal ensemble RajatonRajatonRajaton is a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop...
on the album MaaMaa (album)Maa is the eighth album of Finnish a cappella ensemble Rajaton released in 2007 in celebration of the ensemble's 10th anniversary. Maa, is a Finnish word which, depending on context, can be translated to mean country, earth, land, ground or soil...
to mark the 50th anniversary of Sibelius's death. - Wayne ShorterWayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
recorded a version of Valse triste for his 1965 album The SoothsayerThe Soothsayer- Track listing :All compositions by Wayne Shorter except as indicated.# "Lost" - 7:20# "Angola" - 4:56# "The Big Push" - 8:23# "The Soothsayer" - 9:40# "Lady Day" - 5:36# "Valse Triste" - 7:45# "Angola" [Alternate Take] - 6:41- Personnel :...
. He also recorded Valse triste with his new quartet on Footprints Live!Footprints Live!Footprints Live! is a live album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter released on Verve Records in 2002. It was Shorter's first official live album released under his own name and the first album to feature the 'Footprints Quartet' of Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade.-Reception:The...
from 2002. - Valse triste was used in the 1934 film Death Takes a HolidayDeath Takes a HolidayDeath Takes a Holiday is a 1934 romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing, based on the Italian play La Morte in Vacanze by Alberto Casella.-Synopsis:...
starring Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
. It was playing inside the mansion during the scene in which DeathDeath (personification)The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
, in the form of a man, dances in the garden with a young woman named Grazia.