# The Rapids-Rider's Brides

The Rapids-Rider's Brides (Finnish: Koskenlaskijan morsiamet; sometimes translated as The Ferryman's Brides or The Rapids-Shooter's Brides), Op. 33, is a song for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) and orchestra, composed in 1897 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Sibelius later created two arrangements of The Rapids-Rider's Brides: first, a version for voice and piano (1897–1899), and later, an arrangement for male choir and orchestra (1943).

## Instrumentation

The Rapids-Rider's Brides is scored for the following instruments and voices, organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
* Baritone (or mezzo-soprano)
* 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A), and 2 bassoons
* 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in F), and 3 trombones
* Timpani, bass drum, cymbals, and triangle
* Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

## Discography

The Finnish conductor Jorma Panula and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Finnish baritone Jorma Hynninen, made the world premiere studio recording of The Rapids-Rider's Brides in May 1984 for BIS. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
| No. | Conductor | Orchestra | Baritone | Rec. | Time | Venue | Label |
| 1 | Jorma Panula | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Jorma Hynninen (1) | 1984 | 9:00 | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS |
| 2 | Leif Segerstam | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Jorma Hynninen (2) | ? | 9:06 | ? | Ondine |
| 3 | Edward Gardner | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Gerald Finley | 2016 | 9:44 | Grieg Hall | Chandos |
| No. | Conductor | Orchestra | Ensemble | Rec. | Time | Venue | Label | Ref. |
| 1 | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | YL Male Voice Choir | 2005 | 8:36 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | |
In 2008, the Swedish baritone Gabriel Suovanen [fi] and the Finnish pianist Folke Gräsbeck [fi] made the world premiere studio (and, to date, only) recording of Sibelius transcription of The Rapids-Rider's Brides for BIS. The table below contains additional details about this recording:
| No. | Baritone | Piano | Rec. | Time | Venue | Label | Ref. |
| 1 | Gabriel Suovanen [fi] | Folke Gräsbeck [fi] | 2008 | 11:31 | Kuusankoski Concert Hall [fi] | BIS | |

## Notes, references, and sources
### Notes

* ↑ On 20 July 1905, the Helsinki-based music publisher Fazer & Westerlund [fi] (Helsingfors Nya Musikhandel) sold its Sibelius holdings (the publishing rights and printing plates) to the German firm Breitkopf & Härtel.
* 1 2 3 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.
* 1 2 3 All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
* ↑ J. Panula—BIS (CD–270) 1985
* ↑ L. Segerstam—Ondine (ODE 823–2) 2007
* ↑ E. Gardner—Chandos (CHSA 5178) 2017
* ↑ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1525) 2007
* ↑ G. Suovanen—BIS (CD–1918/20) 2008

### References

* 1 2 3 4 5 Dahlström 2003, p. 145.
* ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 96.
* ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. xxiv.
* ↑ Barnett 2007, pp. 113, 344.

### Sources

* Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
* Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.