Norwegische Tänze op.35

Introduction In 1880 Grieg settled in Bergen after a two year concert tour. There he took over the management of the concert society “Harmonien” in the same year. From 1871-1877 he had already been successful as a conductor in Oslo. In spite of the admiration which he received from the musicians of the orchestra in Bergen he was not happy in his new post. He was disappointed by the mediocre quality of the orchestra and particularly of the choir which he also directed. In addition there was controversy in connection with the performance of Mozart’s Requiem. Principally Grieg complained that there was not enough time to compose. This work load and his discontentment led to stomach trouble, which forced him to follow a course of treatment in the spa of Karlsbad. Back home he continued to recover during the summer in Lofthus at the Sørfjord (Hardanger). At last he now found time to compose and within a short period completed the four Norwegian Dances op.35 for piano for four hands. A large part of his work was written for piano, he was after all an excellent pianist. Grieg’s publisher Peters in Leipzig however repeatedly requested from Grieg more extensive pieces, in particular for orchestra, and therefore pestered Grieg to orchestrate the dances.

Grieg however continually doubted his ability to orchestrate and felt inferior to his compatriot Johan Svendsen in this respect. In 1882 Robert Henriques set the first three dances with Grieg’s consent for orchestra as ballet music for the 2nd act of his stage music for Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt”. Grieg’s friend Frans van der Stucken also arranged two dances (no.2 and no.3) for orchestra. In 1891, the Peters publishing house commissioned the Czech director, composer and viola player Hans Sitt (1850-1922) with a new orchestration. This however was contrary to Grieg’s intentions, who wished that the orchestration be made by a French composer. It is in this version that the work is usually heard.

In contrast to Dvorak in his Slavonic Dances for example, Grieg used original melodies as the basis for his dances. He took them from Ludvig Mathias Lindeman’s collection “Old and New Mountain Tunes” which had been published in 1853.

All four dances are in three sections. The first dance in d-minor is based on the song “Sinclair’s March”, the melody of which originates from the mountains in the north of Norway. Perhaps he was inspired because he had Scottish ancestors (they belonged to the clan of the McGregors). Two dance-like sections frame a lyrical central section, which is in D-major and later in f-sharp-minor. The first two bars form at once a rhythmical core, which will play a role in the whole dance. The following bars of the main section form the thematic material of the dance.

In addition the main section is formed by strong dynamic contrasts. Typical for Grieg’s style are the pedal point, which appear for example at the beginning of the middle section, as well as the alternating tones in the bass, which extend over many bars (see letter B).

The other three dances are Hallings (a Halling is a traditional Norwegian dance in 2/4 or 6/8 beat in a moderate tempo), a type of dance which Grieg often used, particularly in his piano music.

The second dance in A-major is one of the most loved works by Grieg. It is often performed on its own and has been recorded many times. The memorable theme at the beginning from the oboe contributed in particular to its popularity. This theme returns again in the faster middle section (now in c-sharp-minor).

The third dance in G-major has again the fast-slow-fast structure. The quiet section also modulates the beginning of the dance to the minor. This dance is also, like the first, characterised by strong dynamic contrasts.

The most extensive dance is the last in D-major. The three sections are followed by a two sectioned coda. At the beginning of the dance there is a 10-bar theme in the bass, which Grieg takes up again in the middle section. The real main theme first appears at Presto e con brio, shortly before letter A, accompanied by the typical open-fifths in the basses, which so often appear in Norwegian traditional music. The dance concludes in a furious Prestissimo.

Duration of performance approximately 6/3/3/6 minutes.