Seven Songs, Op. 17 (Sibelius)

Seven Songs, Op. 17, is a collection of Swedish and Finnish songs by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius for solo voice and piano. The music was written between 1891 and 1904:

• No. 1 Se'n har jag ej frågat mera (Since then I have enquired no further) (J.L. Runeberg). Finished 1891-92; Arranged as a song with orchestra in 1903.
• No. 2 Sov in! (Go to Sleep!) (Karl August Tavaststjerna). Finished 1891−92.
• No. 3 Fågellek (Enticement) (Karl August Tavaststjerna). Finished 1891.
• No. 4 Vilse (Astray) (Karl August Tavaststjerna). First version finished in 1898, final version in 1902.
• No. 5 En slända (Dragonfly) (Oscar Levertin). Finished in 1904.
• No. 6 Illalle (To Evening) (Aukusti Valdemar Forsman, Finnish surname Koskimies). Finished in 1898. The poem was written for Koskimies' fiancée and wife, Ilta Bergroth, whose name, Ilta, means 'evening'.
• No. 7 Lastu lainehilla (Driftwood) (Ilmari Calamnius, Finnish surname Kianto). Finished in 1902. Sibelius also set the song in German, 'Der Span auf den Wellen' (translated by Alfred Julius Boruttau (1877-1940)).

External links

• Free scores by 7 Songs, Op.17 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Dates, etc. from A List of Sibelius' works, in order by opus number, on the Jean Sibelius website created by The Finnish Club of Helsinki (in English).
• Good background information in Songs and From Late Romanticism to a stylistic transition at the Jean Sibelius website created by The Finnish Club of Helsinki (in English).

Lyrics

• Lyrics below are from The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
• No.1 [1] in Swedish and English.
• No.2 [2] in Swedish and Finnish.
• No.3 [3] in Swedish.
• No.4 [4] in Swedish and Finnish.
• No.6 [5] in Finnish and English.
• No.7 [6] in Finnish and German, 'Der Span auf den Wellen' (trans. by Alfred Julius Boruttau (1877-1940).