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Helios Overture

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Helios Overture
Concert overture by Carl Nielsen
The composer (1901)
Native nameOuverture Helios
CatalogueFS 32; CNW 34
Opus17
Composed1903 (1903)
PublisherHansen (1905)
Duration8–9 mins.
Premiere
Date8 October 1903 (1903-10-08)
LocationCopenhagen, Denmark
ConductorJohan Svendsen
PerformersRoyal Danish Orchestra

The Helios Overture (in Danish: Ouverture Helios), Op. 17 (FS 32; CNW 34), is a concert overture for orchestra written in 1903 by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen. The piece received its premiere at the Odd Fellows Mansion in Copenhagen on 8 October 1903, with Johan Svendsen conducting the Royal Danish Orchestra.

Overview

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Besides his well-known six symphonies, the Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote many short orchestral works, one of the most famous being the Helios Overture.[1] In 1902, Nielsen signed a contract with the publisher Wilhelm Hansen, which allowed him to go to Athens, Greece, to join his wife Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, who was one of the first sculptors allowed to make copies of the bas-reliefs and statues in the Acropolis Museum.

Anne Marie, who had been granted the Ancker Award, was studying Greek art, while Nielsen, being a man of many interests, was interested in archaeology.[2] The local conservatory placed a study room with a piano at Carl Nielsen's disposal. Here he could sit and compose when he was not on excursions in the surrounding mountains with or without Anne Marie.[2] Nielsen's stay in Athens gave him the inspiration of a work depicting the sun rising and setting over the Aegean Sea, an overture which he called Helios. He began work on it in March 1903, and finished it on April 23 the same year.[1][2]

The score is written for three flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.

The work begins as the sun ascends over the Aegean Sea, while strings, divided horns and woodwind sound a melody. This rises out of the darkness to a full orchestra, where fanfaring trumpets begin a striding theme, which returns later in the piece. From there woodwinds begin a graceful tune, from which brass sound. Strings begin to play, which draws the orchestra into a reprise of the striding theme and its fanfare. In the final measures, the music subsides as the sun sinks over the horizon of the sea. The average playing time is between ten and twelve minutes.

On the score, Nielsen wrote:

"Silence and darkness,
The sun rises with a joyous song of praise,
It wanders its golden way
and sinks quietly into the sea."[3]

After a trip to Turkey, Carl and Anne Marie Nielsen traveled through Italy and reached Copenhagen by the end of July.[2] The Helios Overture was successfully performed in Copenhagen on 8 October 1903, with Johan Svendsen conducting, though the reviews were mixed. Carl Nielsen performed Helios several times. The first was an evening concert dedicated to his compositions at the Odd Fellow Mansion on 11 November 1905 and the last performance was on 12 February 1930 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He also played the overture in Helsinki, Stockholm and Berlin.[4]

Being a great showpiece for orchestra, it has been one of Nielsen's most famous works ever since.[5]

On the basis of information from the Carl Nielsen Society, the Helios Overture is currently one of Nielsen's most widely performed works.[6]

Instrumentation

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The Helios Overture is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

Discography

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The table below lists commercially available recordings of the Helios Overture:

No. Conductor Ensemble Rec.[a] Time Recording venue Label Ref.
1 Fritz Busch Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1934 12:49 Stærekassen, Copenhagen (live) Danacord [7]
2 Thomas Jensen Royal Danish Orchestra 1942 10:57 - Odeon - Danacord [7]
3 Erik Tuxen Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra 1952 10:50 Danish Radio Concert Hall Decca [8]
4 Eugene Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra 1967 10:03 Town Hall, Philadelphia Sony Classical
5 Herbert Blomstedt Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1) 1975 12:01 Danish Radio Concert Hall EMI Classics
6 Sir Alexander Gibson Scottish National Orchestra 1978 11:45 Chandos
7 Esa-Pekka Salonen Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1986 10:00 Berwald Hall CBS Masterworks
8 Edward Serov [ru] Odense Symphony Orchestra 1992 14:25 [Unknown][b] Kontrapunkt
9 Gennady Rozhdestvensky Danish National Symphony Orchestra (2) 1993 14:02 Danish Radio Concert Hall Chandos
10 Neeme Järvi Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra 1995 9:13 Gothenburg Concert Hall Deutsche Grammophon
11 Douglas Bostock Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 12:07 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Classico
12 Niklas Willén South Jutland Symphony Orchestra [da] 2002 9:54 Musikhuset, Sønderborg Naxos
13 Lance Friedel Aarhus Symphony Orchestra 2004 12:20 Frichsparker, Aarhus MSR Classics
14 Dorrit Matson New York Scandia Symphony 2005 12:50 Trinity Church Centaur
15 Osmo Vänskä Lahti Symphony Orchestra 2006 10:58 Sibelius Hall BIS
16 Thomas Dausgaard Danish National Symphony Orchestra (3) 2006 11:55 Danish Radio Concert Hall Dacapo

Notes

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  1. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  2. ^ The liner notes to this release do not contain information on the venue(s) at which the work was recorded.

References

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  1. ^ a b "NIELSEN: Aladdin Suite / Pan and Syrinx / Helios Overture". Naxos. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Symphonist and opera composer. Carl Nielsen Society.
  3. ^ Maryland Symphony Orchestra
  4. ^ Thomas Michelsen. "Preface: Overture, Helios, Opus 17", Carl Nielsen Edition, Royal Danish Library. Retrieved 24 October 2010
  5. ^ Jonathan Hodgetts. "Helios Overture (Op.17)". Salisbury Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on 4 July 2004.
  6. ^ "Performances – Archive", Carl Nielsen Society. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  7. ^ a b Danacord website listing for DACOCD 801-830
  8. ^ Classical Recordings Quarterly No.62 Autumn 2010, p.66
  9. ^ E. Ormandy–Sony Classical (SM4K 45 989) 1990
  10. ^ H. Blomstedt–EMI Classics (5 69758 2) 1997
  11. ^ A. Gibson–Chandos (CHAN 6533) 1991
  12. ^ E. Salonen–CBS Masterworks (MK 42093) 1986
  13. ^ E. Serov–Kontrapunkt (32157) 1993
  14. ^ G. Rozhdestvensky–Chandos (CHAN 9287) 1994
  15. ^ N. Järvi–Label (447 757–2) 1996
  16. ^ D. Bostock–Classico (CLASSCD 297) 2000
  17. ^ N. Willén–Naxos (8.557164) 2005
  18. ^ L. Friedel–MSR Classics (MS 1150) 2005
  19. ^ D. Matson–Centaur (CRC 2780) 2005
  20. ^ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–1839/40) 2010
  21. ^ T. Dausgaard–Dacapo (6.220518) 2006
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