The Karelia Suite, Op. 11, is a collection of orchestral pieces composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
The pieces in this suite are drawn from several independent works he wrote in 1893 for a patriotic historical pageant to be presented by students of the University of Helsinki in Viipuri, Karelia, in the south-eastern corner of Finland. Sibelius subsequently compiled a "Concert Suite" of three pieces from the pageant's incidental music (an overture was published separately as Op. 10).
The suite is in three movements: * Intermezzo, a jaunty Allegro march-like theme, depicting a procession, the orchestra brilliantly portraying the atmosphere of marching contingents. The piece was used in the UK as a title theme for the long-running ITV current affairs programme This Week and was used in 1975 to begin the broadcasting day of New Zealand's Television One. * Ballade, "sung" by a bard (on cor anglais), reflecting the mood of a fifteenth-century Swedish king, Karl Knutsson, reminiscing in his castle whilst being entertained by a minstrel. * Alla Marcia, an exhilarating march, originally incidental to a tableau depicting a castle siege. The suite is one of Sibelius's earlier works and remains one of his most popular.