Description
The seventh piece of Grieg's Lyric Pieces, Book I, Op. 12, an album leaf. Published in 1867 when the composer was twenty-four, this first book was the starting point of a collection that eventually ran to ten volumes and sixty-six pieces. Throughout his life Grieg went on compressing the idiom of Norwegian folk music into small piano pieces.
In E minor and duple time, a short motif returns again and again, its harmonic colouring altered slightly each time. Over six hundred notes fall within about a minute, making it one of the more active pieces in the book. The span is four octaves and the right hand keeps up fine figuration.
It is rated for beginners, but the number of notes does demand the concentration to hold a steady tempo. The task is not to play the returning motif identically each time: when the harmony changes, the same melody means something different. Deciding in advance where to swell and where to draw back is what gives this short piece its shape.
A lifelong project by Grieg spanning 10 books and 66 pieces, reflecting Norwegian landscapes and folk music throughout.
Browse all songs in Lyric Pieces →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Edvard Grieg was a composer from Bergen, Norway, and a leading figure of musical nationalism who drew on Nordic folk music. Widely known for his incidental music to Peer Gynt and his Piano Concerto in A minor, he also wrote the Lyric Pieces, a lifelong series of intimate, folk-inspired piano miniatures. This site includes 6 of his works, such as "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" and "March of the Dwarfs."
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