Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7

Disc 1
1	Finlandia, tone poem for
2	Karelia Suite, for orches
3	Karelia Suite, for orches
4	Karelia Suite, for orches
5	Pohjola's Daughter (Pohjo
6	Valse Triste, for orchest
7	Lemminkäinen Suite: Four
8	Lemminkäinen Suite: Four
Disc 2
1	Symphony No. 1 in E minor
2	Symphony No. 1 in E minor
3	Symphony No. 1 in E minor
4	Symphony No. 1 in E minor
5	Symphony No. 4 in A minor
6	Symphony No. 4 in A minor
7	Symphony No. 4 in A minor
8	Symphony No. 4 in A minor
Disc 3
1	Symphony No. 2 in D major
2	Symphony No. 2 in D major
3	Symphony No. 2 in D major
4	Symphony No. 2 in D major
5	Symphony No. 3 in C major
6	Symphony No. 3 in C major
7	Symphony No. 3 in C major
Disc 4
1	Symphony No. 5 in E flat
2	Symphony No. 5 in E flat
3	Symphony No. 5 in E flat
4	Pelléas et Mélisande, sui
5	Pelléas et Mélisande, sui
6	Pelléas et Mélisande, sui
7	Pelléas et Mélisande, sui
8	Symphony No. 7 in C major
9	Symphony No. 7 in C major
10	Symphony No. 7 in C major
11	Symphony No. 7 in C major
Disc 5
1	Scènes Historiques I (3),
2	Scènes Historiques II (3)
3	Scènes Historiques I (3),
4	Rakastava (The Lover), su
5	Rakastava (The Lover), su
6	Rakastava (The Lover), su
7	Romance, for string orche
8	Symphony No. 6 in D minor
9	Symphony No. 6 in D minor
10	Symphony No. 6 in D minor
11	Symphony No. 6 in D minor
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7
1.	Finlandia, tone poem for orchestra, Op. 26 8:33
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
2.	Karelia Suite, for orchestra, Op. 11 15:47
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
3.	Pohjola's Daughter (Pohjolan tytär), symphonic fantasy for orchestra, Op. 49 14:20
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
4.	Valse Triste, for orchestra (from Kuolema), Op. 44/1 5:38
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
5.	Lemminkäinen Suite: Four Legends from the Kalevala, for orchestra, Op. 22: 2. The Swan of Tuonela 7:58
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé and Eric Fletcher
6.	Lemminkäinen Suite: Four Legends from the Kalevala, for orchestra, Op. 22: 4. Lemminkäinen's Return 6:27
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé and Eric Fletcher
7.	Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 42:02
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
8.	Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 36:16
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
9.	Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 46:03
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
10.	Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52 32:46
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
11.	Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 33:26
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
12.	Pelléas et Mélisande, suite for orchestra (or piano), Op. 46: 1. At the Castle Gate 4:27
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
13.	Pelléas et Mélisande, suite for orchestra (or piano), Op. 46: 2. Mélisande 3:58
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
14.	Pelléas et Mélisande, suite for orchestra (or piano), Op. 46: 7. Mélisande at the Spinning Wheel 2:19
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
15.	Pelléas et Mélisande, suite for orchestra (or piano), Op. 46: 9. The Death of Mélisande 6:04
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
16.	Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 21:54
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
17.	Scènes Historiques I (3), suite for orchestra, Op. 25: No. 1, All' overtura 5:19
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
18.	Scènes Historiques II (3), suite for orchestra, Op. 66: No. 1, The Hunt 7:51
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
19.	Scènes Historiques I (3), suite for orchestra, Op. 25: No. 2, Scena 6:41
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
20.	Rakastava (The Lover), suite for string orchestra, triangle & timpani, Op. 14 12:59
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
21.	Romance, for string orchestra in C major, Op. 42 5:44
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé
22.	Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104 29:51
	Composed by Jean Sibelius
	Conducted by John Barbirolli
	Performed by The Hallé

Barnes & Noble

Perhaps because Jean Sibelius' symphonies are like uninhabited landscapes, the music seems to thrive in elemental, or what might even be described as "impersonal" interpretations. Unusual approaches to these scores -- such as those of Leonard Bernstein and Leif Segerstam -- generally miss the mark. What makes Sir John Barbirolli's performances so absorbing is that his highly distinctive interpretive style rarely infringes on the music's unadulterated, solitary nature. In fact, his risktaking is often quite revelatory. As was his custom, Barbirolli favors slow tempos. The opening Allegro moderato of the Third Symphony, for example, is dangerously slow -- more moderato than allegro. In the central section, where the motives become fragmented and the textures bare, it almost seems as if the entire fabric might fall apart. But no other recording makes this desolate scene so haunting. The slow movement of the Fourth Symphony is even more impressive in this regard. Barbirolli's is actually not the slowest account on disc, but the way in which he sustains the line is still unsurpassed. Here is tone painting on a massive scale -- a vast and almost unbearably lonely musical vision. Not surprisingly, there are also a few missteps here and there. The First Symphony could use more rhythmic solidity and drive, for instance, and throughout the set, the Hallé Orchestra has moments of audible insecurity. Listeners unfamiliar with these works should probably search out more mainstream interpretations. (Colin Davis's superb cycle with the Boston Symphony, now available at a budget price, is a safe bet.) Serious Sibelians, however, cannot afford to ignore Barbirolli's insights. Even in a warhorse like Finlandia or a lyrical miniature from Pelléas et Mélisande, his performances have a lyrical intensity and sense of grandeur that touch the soul. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

At the end of the nineteenth century, nearly every theater company in Europe apparently felt compelled to put on a performance of Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist drama Pelléas et Mélisande. Those that could afford it would hire a composer to write incidental music for it. In Finland there was a production of Pelléas, and, naturally, Jean Sibelius was hired to compose the incidental music. Although there are many reasons to prefer Fauré's incidental music to that of Sibelius, not the least of which is that Fauré comprehends the work as a symbolist drama while Sibelius seems to have understood it as a fairy tale with adult content. But as independent music rather than incidental music, Sibelius's music is worthy; it creates in a few pages an atmosphere of doomed love.

That, at any rate, is how John Barbirolli conducts the work in his performance of the Suite recorded in 1967 with the Halle Orchestra. From the opening immense string sonorities of "At the Castle Gate," to the exquisitely tender English-horn-and-cello duet of "Mélisande," to the rushing strings and furtive woodwinds of "Mélisande at the Spinning Wheel," to the mournful "Death of Mélisande," Sibelius's suite drawn from the incidental music becomes in Barbirolli's hands a little symphony on the theme of loving not wisely but too well. James Leonard