Northern Lights: Sibelius's Kullervo

Northern Lights: Sibelius Kullervo.
Ian Skelly introduces a performance of Sibelius's epic musical hybrid given at the BBC Proms as part of this year's celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth. That's preceded by some recently discovered fragments which probably belong to the composer's Eighth Symphony, the 'holy grail' of Finnish classical music, plus songs by the Swedish early 20th century composer Ture Rangström.

Rangström: 3 Songs - Melody, Wings in the Night, The Shield Maiden
Malin Byström (soprano), Matti Hirvonen (piano)

Sibelius: Fragments from the Eighth Symphony
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds (conductor)

Sibelius: Kullervo
Johanna Rusanen-Kartano (soprano)
Waltteri Torikka (baritone)
Polytech Choir
BBC Symphony Chorus (men's voices)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)

The folk hero Kullervo was the inspiration behind a powerful national statement for a country struggling to overthrow Russian rule. This massive musical hybrid - part cantata, part symphony, part suite - is a vivid and thrilling work, richly melodic but looking ahead to modernism.