Sibelius: Hymn, Op. 21

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Description

In 1896, Sibelius wrote Hymn(Op. 21), also known by its initial words Natus in curas , for the unveiling of the sepulchral monument of Josef Pippingsköld (1825–1892), professor of obstetrics at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland (presently the University of Helsinki). The Latin text for Hymn was written for the occasion by Fridolf Gustafsson (1853–1924), professor of Roman literature at the University. Sibelius worked as acting music teacher at the University at the time, and as part of his duties at the ceremony he conducted a small ensemble consisting of singers from the male choirs Akademiska Sångföreningen and Muntra Musikanter. According to the report in Hufvudstadsbladet on the following day, "the simple unveiling ceremony was given a particularly impressive ending by a hymn composed for the ceremony by Jean Sibelius in an old Italian style."

The work was included in a choral collection published in 1899, for which Sibelius made small revisions, mostly by interchanging the inner-voices in some passages and reworking the ending by extending the last phrase. This version was published in the Complete Edition on which the current practical edition is based.