Impromptu (Sibelius)
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| Impromptu | |
|---|---|
| Choral piece by Jean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1902) | |
| Opus | 19 |
| Text |
|
| Language | Swedish |
| Composed | 1902 |
| Publisher | Breitkopf & Härtel (1912)[2] |
| Duration | 7 mins. (orig. 6 mins.)[3] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 8 March 1902[1] |
| Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | Helsinki Philharmonic Society |
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]
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 female choir sang the choral part.[2]
The revised version of the Impromptu is scored for the following instruments and voices,[2] organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
- Female choir (SSAA)
- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, and 2 bassoons
- 4 horns
- Timpani and triangle
- Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
The original version of the piece called for much larger orchestral forces, including 2 trumpets, cymbals, bass drum, tambourine, and castanets.[1]
