How do you feel it? Crisp of morning winter air? We will analyze this later on

The 6th is the one symphony that I have not studied in-depth. I have also never heard it in a live performance.

Some people call it "Pastoral", others call it Sibelius' "Most personal symphony". I think trying to summarize it with a short catch-phrase probably doesn't do it justice.

From casual listening and just flipping through the score, I am intrigued by its use of ostinato in each movement to a degree that I am not used to in other Sibelius' symphonies. But as I say, this is an observation gained only through casual listening. I look forward to studying the work in greater detail!

arenan wrote:

How do you feel it? Crisp of morning winter air? We will analyze this later on

The opening bars certainly do make this impression - but as the work progresses, I think one forgets such clear images and becomes drawn into the symphonic argument. JS told William Seymer (Svenska Dagbladet) in 1923 that ‘It is very tranquil in character and outline… and is built, like the Fifth, on linear rather than harmonic foundations… I do not think of a symphony only as music in this or that number of bars, but rather as an expression of a spiritual creed, a phase in one’s inner life.’
Personally I reckon that people exaggerate the ‘Hommage à Palestrina’ element in this work - does anybody agree?

Andrew B wrote:

Personally I reckon that people exaggerate the ‘Hommage à Palestrina’ element in this work - does anybody agree?

I agree, the comparison is a little naive. By that reckoning, any 20th Century composition that makes use of modal polyphony would by extension also be an hommage to Palestrina.

I've been there. Next to Ainola lies a small Sibelius-Academy weekend-dormatory called Pinola. In the midst of the early winter-spring, looking at the same field and forest that Ainola had a view I had this immense calling of the Sixth. There it absolutely is. Those immense 16-ths of the intro to this whole symphony.

... and by that account, it is naive for us non Finnish people to think we can understand this music without having witnessed the scene described by arenan.

Thank you, arenan, for this contribution.

I think, as naive it might be, that this work starts as a wiff of strong Finnish winter air (minus 28 celsius) and ends like a camera raising upwards, circling rapidly with some young person covered in autumns leaves and then ending to the coda where Sibelius makes a peace with himself, his age and his past. Whoa

It might be his description of the seasons..
Think about it: "Winter" "Spring" "Summer" & "September".
But not anyway impressionistic. More of a narrative of ones state. And this would be Prozac these days. He did his best on Prozac on 6th.

Earlier in the topic, Andrew B remarked that 'personally I reckon that people exaggerate the 'Hommage a Palestrina' element in this work--does anybody agree?. Well its possible, but this little story by record producer and impresario Walter Legge might be of interest.
Legge as given accounts of his visit to Ainola to see Sibelius. When he arrived, two of the daughters said to him: 'We want you to come and see father, but on one condition: you don't mention the 8th Symphony, none of us have been allowed to mention it for years'. Legge talked to Sibelius about the 6th Symphony:'had he been looking at Palestrina or Monteverdi before he started work on the Sixth, or had they been in his mind?. The eyes froze harder than ever. Sibelius walked out into the garden in his immaculate white suit, just like the photographs one sees of him, very high collar with tie rather high up. In the entrance hall of the house there were hundreds of hunting knives. I dont think he had been hunting in his life, they all looked terribly sharp, and I saw him standing beside a bush, savagely pulling off branches. I thought, well, I've got to face up to it, so I walked down to him and put my hand gently on his shoulder. I said: 'Maestro, if I've been indiscreet, if I've asked an indiscreet question, forgive me, I promise not to ask such a question ever again', and Sibelius said: 'If you want to pee, do it here, its much better than inside sanitation in this part of Finland'.
'But curiously enough, when I went back after the war, he received us at the door with the grand seigneur manner, kissed my wifes hand and said: I have the champagne and cigars you prefer ready', and then: You remember the first time you came to see me, you asked me a question about the Sixth Symphony. You were right about Palestrina and Monteverdi', and changed the subject.--kullervopete.

What I wouldn't give for a meeting like that with Sibelius...

Now that I've listened to the Sixth several times I feel I might have something of use to say here.

As to the "Hommage a Palestrina," I feel that people exaggerate it only because the "Palestrina-ness" is present at the beginning and at the end. And you know, with a Sibelius symphony that just doesn't cut it.

As for the way I feel it... the whole thing feels to me like a stream of water, but one that changes. You know, it's so difficult to put something so abstract and yet so perfect into words. It feels like one is destroying the music when one even talks about it at any length. One can easily enough put words to Tapiola, Pohjola's Daughter, the 2nd, 5th, 7th symphonies--but when it comes to the 6th (and to a degree the 3rd) words don't have any meaning whatsoever. It's like normal words become profane, and music is finally the vernacular.

I've always thought the requisite mention of Palestrina when talking about this work seems superfluous. It my have that modal thing going on, but this work really does not sound like anything by Palestrina, does it? It's probably one of the most "Sibelian" of all of Sibelius's works, and I cannot think of anyone BUT Sibelius when listening.

As for the ostinati, yes, his use of this technique is quite striking in this work. There is something so odd about it, and I mean that in a good way. Sibelius was truly an artist who played by his own rules...and that's what we love him.