King Christian II Suite
The King Christian II Suite is a suite composed by Jean Sibelius in 1898. The concert suite is a selection from Sibelius's own incidental music—originally composed for the Scandinavian historical play King Christian II (written by his friend Adolf Paul).[1]
The original play deals with the love of King Christian II, ruler of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, for a Dutch girl, Dyvecke, a commoner.
A complete performance of the suite takes about 25 minutes.
Movements
The suite consists of five movements:[2]
| Movement | Type | Tempo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nocturne | Molto moderato | A love scene. |
| 2 | Elegy | Andante sostenuto | The original introduction to the incidental music. Scored only for strings. |
| 3 | Musette | Allegretto | Dyvecke's dance. Originally scored for clarinets and bassoons, but with strings added for the suite. |
| 4 | Serenade | Moderato assai (Quasi menuetto) | Taken from the prelude to the third act of the play (music for the court ball). |
| 5 | Ballade | Allegro molto | The tempestuous music reflects the anger of the King. |
The Incidental music included an additional movement: the Fool's Song of the Spider.
References
- ↑ sibelius.fi's description of the suite. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ↑ Score of the suite at imslp.org
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||