SEITSEMÄN  VELJESTÄ

Introduction

Armas Launis’ desire to establish the Finnish language was fulfilled in this opera. He  was the first composer to use Finnish for recitative. Aleksis Kivi’s novel, published in 1870, was perfectly suited to that purpose. Launis meticulously followed the spoken song: the dialogue flows smoothly, and the singers must strive to adopt a natural, slightly colloquial diction, including the intonation of words and phrases.

No one denied the merit of this new opera, but the spoken treatment of the vocal parts provoked opposition from many critics because of the almost complete absence of an independent melodic element. Indeed, Launis had created a new and original language in musical drama that had no direct international equivalent. In fact, in the spoken-word style of Leoš Janáček’s operas, the words are more musically expressive because he takes the rhythm and sound of the language as starting points, which he then develops musically.

Launis was also a pioneer in composing, with The Seven Brothers, the first Finnish comic opera. Critics of the time found the orchestral part too serious and monotonous in relation to the text, which was rich in plot twists. Faster tempos would also have been more appropriate for the lively dialogues. Launis himself wrote the opera’s libretto.

In composing The Seven Brothers, Launis took a considerable risk. Kivi’s novel is partly written in dialogue form and is very modern in style. Even on a theater stage, its action is difficult to stage, not to mention the fact that the young composer was writing his first opera of more than four hours, on a dramatically complex subject. According to critics, the opera, as a whole, is fragmented and lacks the narrative and psychological force necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion. The work was subsequently revised shortly afterward in an abridged form.

The opera’s reception was strongly influenced by the ideology of the period. While literary circles debated whether Kivi’s novel was a realistic portrayal of the Finnish peasant in the mid-19th century, musical circles discussed the suitability of spoken language for opera. Although Launis’ work does not hold the same significance in Finnish opera as Kivi’s novel in literature, Launis’ open-mindedness and desire for reform, which were always evident in his personality as a composer, deserve recognition. It must be underlined that his musical language evolved from one opera to the next.

Libretto

Armas Launis’ text is based on Aleksis Kivi’s novel Seitsemän Veljestä (1870).

The Plot

Characters: Jukola’s brothers: Juhani, 25 (baritone), Tuomas (bass), Aapo (baritone), Simeoni (comic tenor), Timo (tenor), Lauri (tenor), and Eero, 18 (tenor); a sacristan (bass), a police chief (speaking role), the old woman from Männistö (speaking role), Venla, her daughter (soprano); villagers from Toukola; Aapeli from Kissala, a clarinetist, and Eenokki from Kuninkala (baritones); Mikko from Rajamäki, a fiddler, a tanner, his wife, their children (silent roles), Toukola’s sons and daughters, and other people.

The action takes place in Tavastia in the mid-19th century.

Act 1

The seven brothers have inherited Jukola’s farm in a sorry state. They decide to change their way of life and find a housekeeper. Meanwhile, they have all fallen in love with the same girl, their neighbor Venla. They want to fight over who will marry Venla but eventually agree that it is up to her to decide. They go together to propose her. The result is disastrous; she refuses them all. They think Venla is rejecting them because they are illiterate. So they decide to learn the alphabet and go to see the sacristan, who is also a teacher at the village school.

Act 2

The sacristan’s lessons, despite reprimands and punishments, yield no results. Distraught, he ends up singing the entire alphabet from A to Z (A, B, C, etc.). Only the youngest, the lively Eero, manages to spell the letters. The others remain stuck on A. The sacristan, in despair, leaves them in the locked room for their afternoon meal. Starving, the men devour the food. At the same time, they hear outside the clarinet of Kissala Aapel and the songs of the Toukola boys. They realize that the mocking song is addressed to them (Kiljukoon nyt tämättä kaul, The Strength of Seven Men). Their good intentions vanish. The farm without a housekeeper, their unfinished studies, and the neighbors’ taunts enrage them. They decide to leave their childhood home and seek refuge in distant forests. They break the window and flee.

In the wilderness, the brothers feel lonely and sad. Aapo’s tale of the “evil eye” of the hill (Asui muinoin tämän vuoren luolissa Lived in the caves of this mountain in ancient times … ) makes them superstitious, frightened by an eye they see in the darkness. They try to banish this “messenger of the devil” with incantations before realizing that the eye is only that of their one-eyed horse. While the men are in the sauna, the water runs out, and Juhani tells Eero to throw beer on the stove. A fight breaks out between the brothers, a fire starts, but all ends well.

Act 3

The male choir and the brothers (offstage) begin singing the Hunter’s Song (Terve metsä, terve vuori Hail forest, hail hill). Years later, game has become scarce. Simeoni and Eero are sent to the town to sell goods. They return from their trip in a sorry state, having squandered all their money. To avoid flogging, Simeoni invents a story about a trip to the moon with Lucifer, which he embellishes with terrifying prophecies (Noin minun pituiseni About my size…). Horrified, the brothers decide to resume their normal lives.

Act 4

On their way to church, the brothers discover an auction in Tammisto’s courtyard. But when Juhani is outraged that anyone would dare hold an auction on the Sabbath day, the brothers are ridiculed. They get angry, and a fight breaks out. But it doesn’t last because the sacristan arrives. He calms the brothers, who then invite the assembled people to a reconciliation celebration in Jukola.

The brothers arrive in the courtyard of their dilapidated farmhouse in Jukola. They salute their ancestral home with fervor. Juhani speaks of their mother (Ah, jos eläisi äiti nyt Ô, if only Mother were still alive). The sacristan delivers a spiritual speech (Perkele Diable). Finally, the entire village celebrates the engagement of Juhan and Venla.