# Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II

The Cantata for the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II (in Finnish: Kantaatti ilo- ja onnentoivotusjuhlassa marraskuun 2 päivänä 1896; sometimes referred to as Coronation Cantata (in Finnish: Kruunajaiskantaatti) for short), JS 104, is a two-movement cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is chronologically the second of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas, and belongs to a series of three such pieces—along with the Promotional Cantata of 1894 (JS 105) and the Promotional Cantata of 1894 (JS 106)—that he wrote on commission from his employer at the time, the Imperial Alexander University (today the University of Helsinki). Sibelius composed the cantata in honor of Nicholas II's accession to the Russian throne, because the University, as a state-financed institution, was required to pay its respects to the new sovereign. (At the time, Finland was a grand duchy in the tsar's possession.) The piece premiered on 2 November 1896 during a ceremony in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society and an amateur chorus.
In 1896, Sibelius arranged for orchestra a section of Movement I as the Coronation March (Kröningsmarsch). Finally, in 1913, he arranged a portion of Movement I (bars 115–153) as Hail, O Princess (Terve ruhtinatar), for female choir (or children's choir) a cappella.

## Instrumentation

The Coronation Cantata is scored for the following instruments and voices, organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
* Mixed choir (SATB)
* 1 flute (doubling on piccolo), 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, and 1 bassoon
* 2 horns, 2 trumpets, and 3 trombones
* Bass drum, cymbals, and triangle
* Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

## Structure

The Coronation Cantata is in two movements. They are:
* Allegro; "Hail, young prince ..." ("Terve nuori ruhtinas ...")
* Allegro; "In the sure security of justice ..." ("Oikeuden varmassa turvassa ...")
The cantata remains in manuscript, although will eventually be published as part of the Jean Sibelius Works (JSW) critical edition, an ongoing collaborative project between the National Library of Finland, Breitkopf & Härtel, and the Sibelius Society of Finland. (Begun in 1996, the series is projected at 52 volumes and will eventually cover all of Sibelius's completed original compositions and arrangements, including relevant JS-designated works.)

## Discography

The Finnish conductor Leif Segerstam and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by the Finnish Philharmonic Choir, made the world premiere studio recording of the Coronation Cantata in April 1999 for Ondine. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
| No. | Conductor | Orchestra | Chorus | Rec. | Time | Venue | Label | Ref. |
| 1 | Leif Segerstam | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Finnish Philharmonic Choir | 1999 | 17:13 | Finlandia Hall | Ondine | |
| 2 | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Jubilate Choir [fi] | 2001 | 18:37 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | |
In addition, the Finnish choral director Hannu Norjanen and the Tapiola Chamber Choir [fi] made the world premiere studio recording of the Hail, O Princess for female choir a cappella c. 1997 for Finlandia. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
| No. | Choral director | Ensemble | Runtime | Rec. | Recording venue | Label |
| 1 | Hannu Norjanen | Tapiola Chamber Choir [fi] | 0:49 | 1997 | Roihuvuori Church [fi] | Finlandia |
| 2 | Astrid Riska | Jubilate Choir [fi] | 0:48 | 1998 | Tapiola Hall | BIS |
| 3 | Seppo Murto [fi] | Dominante Choir [fi] | 1:18 | 2010 | New Pavilon [fi], Kauniainen | BIS |
| 4 | Heikki Seppanen [fi] | Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir | 0:50 | 2014 | Järvenpää Hall [fi] | Ondine |
Finally, the Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording (and, to date, only) of the Coronation March in January 2002 for BIS. The table below contains additional details about this recording:
| No. | Conductor | Orchestra | Runtime | Rec. | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
| 1 | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | 2002 | 2:10 | Sibelius Hall | BIS | |

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

* 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.
* ↑ L. Segerstam—Ondine (ODE 936–2) 1999
* ↑ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1265) 2004
* ↑ Tapiola Chamber Choir—Finlandia (0630–19054–2) 1998
* ↑ Jubilate Choir—BIS (CD–998) 1999
* ↑ Dominante Choir—BIS (CD–1889) 2012
* ↑ Estonian Phil. Chamber Choir—Ondine (ODE 1260–2D) 2015
* ↑ O. Vänskä—BIS (CD–1445) 2003

### References

* 1 2 3 4 Dahlström 2003, p. 561.
* ↑ Barnett 2007, pp. 107, 228.
* 1 2 Dahlström 2003, p. 562.
* ↑ Sibelius Society.

### Sources

* "The critical edition: Jean Sibelius Works". sibeliussociety.fi. Sibelius Society of Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
* 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.
* Tiilikainen, Jukka; Salmenhaara, Erkki (1999). Sibelius: Cantata for the Concerment Ceremony of 1894 / Coronation Cantata / Academic March / Andante festivo / Finlandia (booklet). Translated by Hallberg-Rautalin, Irma. Leif Segerstam, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, & Finnish Philharmonic Choir. Ondine. ODE 936-2.
* Classical Music