''Hakon Jarl'' (Op. 16) is a

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

composed by

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

between 1860 and 1861. It is based on the historical tragedy of the same name by the Danish poet and playwright

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

. The play's protagonist and namesake is Håkon Jarl who ruled Norway in the late 10th century.

Background and performance history

''Hakon Jarl'' is the third and last of Smetana's so-called "Swedish" symphonic poems, composed during the years he spent in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

(1857–1861). His visit to

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

at Weimar in the summer of 1857, where he heard Liszt's ''

Faust Symphony ''A Faust Symphony in three character pictures'' (german: Eine Faust-Symphonie in drei Charakterbildern), S.108, or simply the "''Faust Symphony''", is a choral symphony written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Go ...

'' and ''

Die Ideale ' ("The Ideals"), S. 106, is a symphonic poem composed by Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 ...

'', caused a material reorientation of Smetana's orchestral music and suggested to him a means for expressing literary subjects by a synthesis between music and text, rather than by simple musical illustration. These insights are reflected in ''Hakon Jarl'' and the first two symphonic poems he wrote in Gothenburg: ''Richard III'' (1858), and ''Wallenstein's Camp'' (1859). The subject matter of ''Hakon Jarl'', which was based on Oehlenschläger's 1804 play about a legendary Norse ruler and the triumph of Christianity over paganism in Scandinavia, was possibly chosen to appeal to Smetana's intended audience in Gothenburg. However, according to musicologist

Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...

, the work's poetic and musical themes show no particular Scandinavian colour and are "universally heroic and religious" in nature. In the end, ''Hakon Jarl'' and Smetana's previous two symphonic poems premiered in his

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

homeland instead of Sweden. Smetana finished the first sketch of ''Hakon Jarl'' on 6 January 1860 and completed the work on 24 March 1861. Shortly thereafter he returned permanently to Prague where it was performed for the first time on 24 February 1864. Although not as well known as Smetana's later symphonic poem cycle, ''

Má vlast ''Má vlast'' (), also known as ''My Fatherland'', is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single ...

'', the three "Swedish" symphonic poems are still regularly performed in concert halls.

Recordings

''Hakon Jarl'' (along with ''Richard III and Wallenstein's Camp'') was recorded in 2007 for

Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964, Sesto San Giovanni, Italy) is an Italian conductor. Biography Noseda studied piano and composition in Milan. He began conducting studies at age 27. He furthered his conducting studies with Donato Renzett ...

. Among its previous recordings are those by

Rafael Kubelik Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * Rafa ...

and

Vladimir Valek Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukra ...

.''

International Record Review ''International Record Review'' was an independent British monthly classical music magazine. First published in March 2000, and defunct by April 2015 according to its website,International Record Review websit Retrieved 3 April 2015. the magazine ...

'' (2007), Vol 8, Issue 1, p. 49

References

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Bedřich Smetana Symphonic poems 1861 compositions Adaptations of works by Adam Oehlenschläger