Violoncello (Festmarsch (aus „Dornröschen“ op. 22))

Erkki Melartin, properly called Erik Gustav Melartin (b. 7th February 1875 in Käkisalmi, d. 14th February 1937 in Helsinki) was and remains one of the most important figures in Finnish music in the early 20th century. With a total of 1331 works, he was an exceptionally prolific composer whose catalogue of works ranges from solo piano and chamber music works to orchestral works, stage music and opera. Of his orchestral output, Six Symphonies (1902–1924), Violin Concerto, op. 60 (1913) and the tone poem Traumgesicht, op. 70 (1910) are particularly worthy of mention. His only opera Aino, op. 50 (1907–09), based on the Kalevala story, has established a solid position in the domestic repertoire.

The music for the Play Sleeping Beauty, op. 22, is one of Melartin’s early works; he was 29 years old when it was composed in 1904. Text was by Zachris Topelius (1818–1898), and it premiered at the Finnish Theatre on 4th January 1905. Later on, Melartin adapted the stage music into a six-movement orchestral suite. The most famous part of the music has become the present Festive March, which has gained great popularity as a wedding march.

Mr. Luukas Hiltunen's arrangement for String Quartet of Melartin's Festive March from the Play The Sleeping Beauty is mainly based on Melartin’s own arrangement for piano, although the orchestral version from the suite was used as a reference. Because the arrangement is intended to be more suitable for a concert use than for wedding ceremonies, Mr. Hiltunen composed an introductory passage and a brief concluding section to frame Melartin’s Festive March. In his compositional passages, Mr. Hiltunen followed the playfullness and virtuosity that can be detected in Melartin’s symphonies and violin concerto. Thus the passages blend beautifully with Melartin’s musical language, enriching and broadening the whole, making the march more appropriate for String Quartet and further for a concert use.