Peer Gynt

In an odd way, this post is a bit of a culmination of quite a few posts that I have made over the past month or so.  First off, it's another case of a multi-movement piece of music having more than one movement become wildly popular.  Second off, it's another case of incidental theatre music far outstripping the play itself in terms of being well-known.  And thirdly, the second piece illustrates a freaking sunrise.  Not a bad way to cap off a month of blogging, I'd say.  The piece, incidentally (I'm going to get so much griegf for this...) is called Peer Gynt, and the composer Edvard Grief.  I mean Grieg.

Grieg, age fifteen, wearing a wig and false mustache to appear older.

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway in 1843 to a musical family (though not nearly as intense about it as the Bachs), though his mother was his first piano teacher.  At fifteen, Grieg enrolled in the Leipzig Conservatory (again with the Bachs - Leipzig was, if you'll recall, where Johann Sebastian had his longest post).  His first major premiere, the Piano Concerto in A minor, was in 1869, but he was not even there due to conducting obligations in Oslo.  In 1870, he made friends with Franz Liszt (a man I've promised a post on for some time... I suppose I'd better get on that soon), and remained close with the man until Liszt's death in 1886.  Grieg's life was not marked by either great acclaim or tragedy, though he did always live in the upper echelons of musical society at the time; for one, the Norwegian government appreciated his nationalistic musical tendencies, so they supported him with a pension for the last third of his life.  He was not a particularly prolific composer either (he had great distaste for much of his work - his only symphony displeased him so much that he tried to suppress it entirely), but what is known of his is ridiculously well-known.

In 1874, Henrik Ibsen asked Grieg to write incidental music (for those who have forgotten or who have not been following this blog since its inception - and shame on you for that - incidental music is music written for a play that is not necessary for the plot's development) for his play in verse Peer Gynt, and Peer Gynt was premiered in February of 1876.  Though the play itself is performed quite often in Norway, its extraordinary length has kept it from being part of the theatrical canon pretty much anywhere else.  Besides which, as seems to be the case for much 'incidental' music, the music itself has gone on to wild international popularity.

The character Peer Gynt is a young man of rather disreputable character, often getting drunk and having to quickly leave messy situations he has created.  Booze is a central factor in many of Gynt's misadventures, be it stumbling into a wedding to try and wrest the girl he loves from her husband-to-be or, y'know, hitting his head on a rock and dreaming up an entire civilization of trolls.

What I sincerely hope Gynt saw.  Thanks, Harpsterdraws!

Which is what "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is about.  After getting well drunk with a trio of milkmaids, Gynt hits his head on a rock and dreams that he meets the daughter of the troll king.  The music accompanies them as they ride to the troll king's mountain hall.  Several other (mis)adventures occur, including Peer getting the troll king's daughter pregnant just by thinking it (the more I read about this play, the more I want there to be a production of it in the States).  Grieg did not actually like "In the Hall of the Mountain King" very much, which is not particularly out-of-character for him, but this time, his distaste includes a quote too good to pass up: "I have also written something for the scene in the hall of the mountain King – something that I literally can't bear listening to because it absolutely reeks of cow-pies, exaggerated Norwegian nationalism, and trollish self-satisfaction! But I have a hunch that the irony will be discernible."

"Morning Mood," or "That piece in every single morning scene in Looney Tunes," is the prelude to Act IV.  Also Sprach Zarathustra's more timid cousin, "Morning Mood" also tries (and succeeds, in my estimations) to paint a sunrise with music.  Though it is decidedly less epic and more pastoral than Zarathustra, sometimes that's just what is needed - particularly when milkmaids are concerned.

A small addendum: Peer Gynt also includes, much in the vein of Aaron Copland, a piece of fiddle music he couldn't seem to put down.  First he turned it into a solo piano piece:

Then he added it smack dab into the middle of the opening of Peer Gynt (skip to 1:50 to hear it):

Sometimes it's best to know when to put a good thing down, yes, but it's equally good to know when to milk it for all it's worth. 

Further Listening:

Like Grieg, and also heartbreaking works of staggering beauty?  Try "Solveig's Song" from Peer Gynt, performed by Anna Netrebko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZL0FcQDV0&feature=related

Like Grieg, and also piano concertos?  Guess what this is going to be, then:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypR4VKi1TM&feature=related