Peer Gynt (Grieg) Explained

Peer Gynt
Type:Incidental music and Suites
Composer:
Text:from Ibsen's Peer Gynt
Performed: Oslo

Peer Gynt, Op. 23, is the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play Peer Gynt, written by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg in 1875. It premiered along with the play on 24 February 1876 in Christiania (now Oslo).[1]

Grieg later created two suites from his Peer Gynt music. Some of the music from these suites has received coverage in popular culture.

Background

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was one of the definitive leaders of Scandinavian music. Although he composed many short piano pieces and chamber works, the work Grieg did for this play by Ibsen 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.[2]

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, 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.[3]

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;[4] the recording conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud is split into 49 items.[5] Both recordings include several verses from the drama, read by actors.

The original score contains 26 movements: Movements indicated in bold were extracted by Grieg into two suites.

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.[6] (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, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, four horns in E, two trumpets in E, three trombones, a tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, triangle, harp, 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, although they 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. 2, Op. 55

Originally, the second suite had a fifth number, The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter, but Grieg withdrew it.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Peer-Gynt-by-Grieg Peer Gynt (work by Grieg)
  2. Book: Hoffer, Charles. Music Listening Today, Cengage Advantage Edition. Cengage. 2015. 244.
  3. Edvard Grieg – Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, ed. by Dan Fog, Kirsti Grinde and Øyvind Norheim. Henry Litolffs Verlag Frankfurt/Main Leipzig London New York 2008
  4. Web site: Grieg, E.: Orchestral Music, Vol. 5 – Peer Gynt (complete incidental music). https://web.archive.org/web/20081015025700/http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=647428. dead. 2008-10-15. Classics Online.
  5. Web site: Grieg – Peer Gynt (The Complete Incidental Music). BIS Records.
  6. Web site: Prom 27: Peer Gynt . 2012-01-02 . Jeal . Erica . 2001-08-11 . The Guardian. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002145937/http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2001/aug/11/artsfeatures.proms2001 . live . 2013-10-02.
  7. Web site: Grieg, E.: Orchestral Music, Vol. 4 – Peer Gynt Suites / Orchestral Songs (Malmo Symphony, Engeset) – About this Recording. Engeset. Bjarte. Naxos. Translated by David Gallagher. 2018-04-29. [Grieg] wanted an alternative to the first Suite for the concert programmes he conducted. At first he used The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter to end the second Suite, and he also wondered about including Solveig's Lullaby and/or Peer Gynt's Serenade, but finally he decided to bring in the Arabian Dance and drop The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter. So he ended up with a kind of chronological miniature version of the drama.. 2017-09-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20170926193802/https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.570236&catNum=570236&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English. dead.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peer Gynt (Grieg)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.