To most of the concert-going public, Edvard Grieg is
only familiar as the composer of two fabulously popular
concert works: the Concerto for piano and orchestra,
and the first Orchestral Suite extracted from the
incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt.
Ever since the Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 appeared in
the late 1880s it has been a staple of the orchestral
repertory. Indeed, it is safe to say that its four
constituent pieces are among the most frequently played
and immediately reco...(+)
To most of the concert-going public, Edvard Grieg is
only familiar as the composer of two fabulously popular
concert works: the Concerto for piano and orchestra,
and the first Orchestral Suite extracted from the
incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt.
Ever since the Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 appeared in
the late 1880s it has been a staple of the orchestral
repertory. Indeed, it is safe to say that its four
constituent pieces are among the most frequently played
and immediately recognizable ever written; yet, in a
good performance, they still retain a great deal of
their original vitality and freshness.
Ibsen's five-act drama concerns a young Norwegian
ruffian named Peer Gynt, who dreams of becoming emperor
of the world. His sundry adventures--abducting a
bride-to-be during her wedding, abandoning her for
another woman, being tormented by gnomes, posturing as
a prophet among the Arabs, eloping with and being
subsequently double-crossed by an Arab princess, and
finally returning to Norway--are the stuff of high
drama and adventure, and are rough and isolated in a
way that is peculiarly Nordic. Grieg captures this tone
perfectly.
Grieg opens the first Peer Gynt suite with a piece
called "Morning Mood", originally played at the
beginning of the fourth act. A gentle E major theme is
announced by the flutes, and then the oboes, against a
static harmonic background that effectively emulates
the stillness of the first moments of dawn. This lovely
melody--an inverted arch shape--is taken through a
sparkling palette of subtle harmonic inflections;
bright flute trills join the musical mixture as
"Morning Mood" comes to a gentle close. Although
"Morning Mood" is only four minutes long, Grieg manages
to capture in music something both timeless and
universal.
Although originally created for Large orchestra, I
created this arrangement of the "Morning Mood" for
Small Orchestra (Piccolo, Flutes, Oboes, Bb Clarinets,
Bassoons, Bb Trumpets, French Horns, F Tubas, Violins,
Violas, Cellos & Bass).
PARTITION