''Peer Gynt'', Op. 23, is the

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

's 1867 play of the same name, written by the Norwegian composer

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

in 1875. It premiered along with the play on 24 February 1876 in Christiania (now Oslo). Grieg later created two

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite ...

s from his ''Peer Gynt'' music. Some of the music from these suites has received coverage in popular culture; see Grieg's music in popular culture.

Background

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was one of the definitive leaders of Scandinavian music and his influence was great. Although composing many short piano pieces and chamber works, the work Grieg did for

stood out. Originally composing 90 minutes of orchestral music for the play, he later went back and extracted certain sections for the suites. Peer Gynt's travels around the world and distant lands are represented by the instruments Grieg chooses to use. When Ibsen asked Grieg to write music for the play in 1874, he reluctantly agreed. However, it was much more difficult for Grieg than he imagined, as he wrote to a friend:

Nina Grieg Nina Grieg, née Hagerup (24 November 1845 – 9 December 1935) was a Danish– Norwegian lyric soprano. Early life and family Nina Hagerup was born in Bergen, Norway. She was the first cousin of composer Edvard Grieg, whom she married. Car ...

, his wife, wrote of Edvard and his music: Even though the premiere was a "triumphant success", it prompted Grieg to complain bitterly that the Swedish management of the theatre had given him specifications as to the duration of each number and its order: For many years, the suites were the only parts of the music that were available, as the original score was not published until 1908, one year after Grieg's death, by

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He re ...

.''Edvard Grieg – Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis'', ed. by Dan Fog, Kirsti Grinde and Øyvind Norheim. Henry Litolffs Verlag Frankfurt/Main Leipzig London New York 2008

Original score, Op. 23

Various recordings have been made of this music. Some recordings that claim to contain the complete incidental music have 33 selections; the recording conducted by

Ole Kristian Ruud Ole Kristian Ruud (born 2 October 1958) is a Norwegian conductor. Ruud was born in Lillestrøm. He studied clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy and made his debut in Os ...

is split into 49 items. Both recordings include several verses from the drama, read by actors. The original score contains 26

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

: Movements indicated in bold were extracted by Grieg into two suites. * Act I ** Prelude: At the Wedding (''I brudlaupsgarden'') ** The Bridal Procession (''Brudefylgjet dreg forbi'') ** Halling (''Halling'') ** Springar (''Springdans'') * Act II ** Prelude: The Abduction of the Bride. Ingrid's Lament (''Bruderovet / Ingrids klage'') ** Peer Gynt and the Herd-Girls (''Peer Gynt og seterjentene'') ** Peer Gynt and the Woman in Green (''Peer Gynt og den grønkledde'') ** By His mount You Shall Judge Him (''På ridestellet skal storfolk kjennes'') **

In the Hall of the Mountain King "In the Hall of the Mountain King" ( no, I Dovregubbens hall, , In the Dovre man's hall, link=no, italic=no) is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen's 1867 ...

(''I Dovregubbens hall'') ** Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter (''Dans av Dovregubbens datter'') ** Peer Gynt hunted by the trolls (''Peer Gynt jages av troll'') ** Peer Gynt and the Boyg (''Peer Gynt og Bøygen'') * Act III ** Prelude: Deep in the Forest (''Dypt Inne I Barskogen'') ** Solveig's Song (''Solvejgs sang'') ** The Death of Åse (''Åses død'') * Act IV ** Prelude: Morning Mood (''Morgenstemning'') ** The Thief and the Receiver (''Tjuven og heilaren'') ** Arabian Dance (''Arabisk dans'') ** Anitra's Dance (''Anitras dans'') ** Peer Gynt's Serenade (''Peer Gynts serenade'') ** Peer Gynt and Anitra (''Peer og Anitra'') ** Solveig's Song (Solvejgs sang) * Act V ** Prelude: Peer Gynt's Homecoming (''Peer Gynts heimfart'') ** Shipwreck (''Skipsforliset'') ** Day Scene ** Solveig sings in the hut (''Solvejg syngjer i hytta'') ** Night Scene (''Nattscene'') ** Whitsun Hymn (''Pinsesalme'') ** Solveig's Cradle Song (''Solvejgs vuggevise'') The complete score of the incidental music includes several songs and choral pieces. The complete score was believed to be lost until the 1980s and has been performed in its entirety only since then. (See the article on Ibsen's play for a list of notable productions, including concert performances of the incidental music.) It was originally orchestrated for: one

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

, two

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...

s, two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

s, two

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

s in A, two

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

s, four horns in E, two

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s in E, three

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

s, a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

, and strings.

Suites

Over a decade after composing the full incidental music for Peer Gynt, Grieg extracted eight movements to make two four-movement suites. The ''Peer Gynt'' suites are among his best-known works, however they initially began as incidental compositions. Suite No. 1, Op. 46 was published in 1888, and Suite No. 2, Op. 55 was published in 1893. A typical rendition of both suites lasts 20 to 35 minutes.

Suite No. 1, Op. 46

Suite No. 2, Op. 55

Originally, the second suite had a fifth number, ''The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter'', but Grieg withdrew it.

References

External links

*
"Solveig's Song"
performed by

Luisa Tetrazzini Luisa Tetrazzini (June 29, 1871 in Florence – April 28, 1940 in Milan) was an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well b ...

{{Authority control Incidental music 1875 compositions Stefan Zweig Collection Compositions for symphony orchestra it:Peer Gynt#Le musiche di scena di Grieg