London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis - Sibelius: Symphony No 2 & Pohjola's Daughter (2007) [DS...

Sibelius's Pohjola's Daughter is usually classified as a 'tone poem'- in other words, not a 'pure' symphonic work, but one in which a literary or pictorial idea is represented in music. But Sibelius's description was 'Symphonic Fantasy' - which is exactly how the onemovement Seventh Symphony was entitled when it first appeared in 1924. It is quite possible to appreciate Pohjola's Daughter simply as a colourful and highly compact one-movement symphony. All the same, unlike the Seventh Symphony, Pohjola's Daughter does come with a story, printed in verse form in the score. It tells how V.in.m.inen - the wizard-hero of the Finnish folk-epic, the Kalevala - sees the daughter of the moon-god Pohjola sitting at her spinning wheel atop a rainbow. Instantly he falls in love with her, and begs her to join him. She agrees to come down when V.in.m.inen has conjured a boat from her spindle - in other words: 'Thanks, but no thanks'. V.in.m.inen tries heroically, but fails. Furious, humiliated, he springs onto his sleigh and vanishes.