Sibelius wrote Finlandia in 1899 to promote Finnish identity and arouse the Finns to detach themselves from the Russian Empire. The Czars had ruled Finland as a duchy for a hundred years—it was part of Sweden before that—and by the end of the 19th century most Finns wanted a country of their own. This would not actually happen until the end of World War I and the Russian Revolution.
Finlandia is one of the composer’s most familiar works. The hymn-like middle section has acquired words both religious and patriotic in several languages which are frequently performed by choruses around the world. “Dear land of home, our hearts to thee are holden” is an English version. Although it began as a piece of Finnish patriotism it has been adopted by many other nationalities and adapted for various purposes. After all, music is not inherently nationalistic or religious, or happy or stately or scary for that matter. Music acquires meaning through traditions, context, usage, or text.
Although already in his mid-30s, Sibelius had written only a few pieces for orchestra, and here the composer is still finding his voice. Finlandia proceeds quite simply. The work opens with a slow introduction of growling bass instruments stating a heavily laden theme. Sibelius certainly owes a debt to Tchaikovsky in his orchestration here. The theme is repeated at a quicker tempo introducing rousing music, a call to arms to the Finnish people perhaps. After the music reaches a loud climax, we hear the hymn theme everyone recognizes but very softly and beautifully by the woodwinds. It is repeated again but still at only a moderate volume in the strings, although underneath the timpani and bass drum rumble, perhaps the voices of the Finns stirring for a fight. The call to arms returns, but we never really get a full brash and triumphant version of the hymn, only the opening phrase loudly in the brass as a closing cadence.