Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II, for chorus and orchestra

The Cantata for the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II (in Finnish: Kantaatti ilo- ja onnentoivotusjuhlassa marraskuun 2 päivänä 1896; sometimes referred to as Coronation Cantata (in Finnish: Kruunajaiskantaatti) for short), JS 104, is a two-movement cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is chronologically the second of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas, and belongs to a series of three such pieces—along with the Promotional Cantata of 1894 (JS 105) and the Promotional Cantata of 1894 (JS 106)—that he wrote on commission from his employer at the time, the Imperial Alexander University (today the University of Helsinki). Sibelius composed the cantata in honor of Nicholas II's accession to the Russian throne, because the University, as a state-financed institution, was required to pay its respects to the new sovereign. (At the time, Finland was a grand duchy in the tsar's possession.) The piece premiered on 2 November 1896 during a ceremony in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society and an amateur chorus.