Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer born in Hämeenlinna on December 8, 1865, into a Swedish-speaking family. He studied at the Helsinki Music Institute under Martin Wegelius and continued his training in Berlin and Vienna. After marrying Aino Järnefelt in 1892, he became increasingly associated with Finland's cultural awakening and eventually settled with his family at Ainola near Järvenpää. His major works include seven symphonies, the Violin Concerto, Kullervo, the Karelia Suite, Tapiola, and Finlandia.

FINLANDIA comes from the serene central-to-late theme of the orchestral work created for the Finnish Press Celebrations of 1899 amid Russian censorship and political pressure. Sibelius revised the music in 1900, and the score was published soon afterward. He did not compose this melody for “Be Still, My Soul,” nor did he devise the first congregational adaptation. The theme was first adapted as a hymn tune for the 1927 revised Church Hymnary under musical editor David Evans, where it was paired with Jane Borthwick's English translation. Sibelius later authorized and created other choral forms of the Finlandia hymn, but those belong to a separate textual history.