User:Silence of Järvenpää/Work (pg)

Peer Gynt, Opp. 23 (full score), 46 (Suite No. 1), and 55 (Suite No. 2), is incidental music for soloists, mixed choir, and orchestra written from 1874 to 1875 by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

The full score premiered in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway on 24 Feburary 1876 at the Christiania Theatre; Johan Hennum conducted the in-house orchestra.

Composition

 * Isben wrote to Grieg on 23 January 1874: "I intend to arrange Peer Gynt ... for the stage. Would you consent to write the music required for this?"
 * Isben had written the drama (not originally intended for the stage) in 1867. An earlier attempt by Isben in 1870 to realize a stage performance, but this seems to have failed. By four years later, at the suggestion of Ludvig Josephson, who was the director of the Christiania Theatre, Isben tried anew. Isben, who had first met Grieg in Rome in 1866 but was not close with the composer, thought him the most appropriate man for the job.
 * Grieg immediately accepted Isben's offer, as it was financially lucrative and he relished the opportunity to work on such an important and prestigious project.
 * The task, however, taxed Grieg: "The task is much larger than I had imagined, and at certain points I am // encountering difficulties that bring me to a standstill", Grieg wrote Josephson on 28 August 1874. And to his friend Frants Beyer on 27 August: "The subject matter is terribly cumbersome, with the exception of a few places such as when Solveig sings". And "it was the most unmusical of all subjects" and weighted on Grieg "like a nightmare", according to two letters to Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson from 1 October 1874 and 2 January 1895. And he confided to August Winding on 5 April that "Peer Gynt ... doesn't interest me.
 * Grieg finally completed the score the the summer of 1875, after 18 months of labor; he wrote on 27 July to Isben that the music was ready to send.
 * On 12 April 1876, following the premiere, he admitted to Johan Selmer that he had been "forced to abandon his artistic ideals in order to 'gratify the weak orchestra and to highlight crowd-pleasing stage effects. Had I felt that I was standing before my better self, I should naturally have attended the premiere, to have my intentions put into effect. But as things stand I am sure you understand that I have preferred to stay away'".

Instrumentation
The incidental music to Peer Gynt is scored for the following instruments and voices, organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):


 * 3 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, baritone, 2 basses, and mixed choir (SATB)
 * 3 flutes (two doubling piccolo), 2 oboe, 2 clarinets (in A; in B♭), and 2 bassoons
 * 4 horns (in F; in E), 2 trumpets (in F; in E), 3 tenor trombones (one doubling bass trombone), and tuba
 * Timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, xylophone, "tiefe glocken" (tubular bells), piano and organ
 * Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, harp, and Hardanger fiddle

Suite No. 1 is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, triangle, and strings (first and second violins, violas, cellos, and basses). Suite No. 2 retains its predecessor's scoring, albeit with the addition of harp, snare drum, and tambourine.

Structure and roles
Peer Gynt is a stage drama in five acts, each of which features original incidental music by Grieg. Although the play includes dozens of roles, only a few are important to Grieg's score, either as vocalists (songs) or actors (dialogue spoken during musical numbers). The principal roles are Peer Gynt (one song), Solveig (three), Åse (none), and Anitra (one).

Theatre score, Op. 23
Grieg's incidental music to Isben's Peer Gynt includes 26 original musical numbers. A twenty-seventh number reprises—as was the composer's preference—Åse's Death (Åses død) during the Act III deathbed melodrama between Peer Gynt and his dying mother. The list below includes these 27 numbers: Act I
 * Prelude (Forspill): At the Wedding (I bryllupsgården). Allegro con brio
 * Scene 2: Halling. Allegretto [includes spoken dialogue, Hardanger fiddle played offstage]
 * Scene 3: Springar. Allegro vivace [includes dialogue, Hardanger fiddle played offstage]

Act II
 * Prelude (Forspill): The Abduction of the Bride (Bruderovet) – Ingrid’s Lament (Ingrids klage). Allegro furioso – Andante ‡
 * Scene 3: Peer Gynt and the Herd-girls (Peer Gynt og seterjentene): "Trond i Valfjeldet! Bård og Kåre! ..." ("Trond of Valfjeld! Bård and Kåre! ..."), for two sopranos and mezzo-soprano. Allegreo marcato [includes dialogue]
 * Scene 5: Peer Gynt and the Woman in Green (Peer Gynt og Den grønnkledte). Andante [includes dialogue]
 * Scene 5: "You can tell great men by the style of their mounts!" ("På ridestellet skal storfolk kjendes!"). Presto
 * Scene 6: In the Hall of the Mountain King (I Dovregubbens hall): "Slagt ham! Kristenmands søn ..." ("Kill him! The Christian's son ..."), for mixed choir. Alla marcia e molto marcato [includes dialogue] †
 * Scene 6: Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter (Dans av Dovregubbens datter). Allegretto alla burla
 * Scene 6: Peer Gynt Chased by the Trolls (Peer Gynt jages av troll): "Tomtegubber! Nisser! Bid ham bag! ..." ("Goblins! Pixies! Bite his bum! ..."), for mixed choir. Presto [includes dialogue]
 * Scene 7: Peer Gynt and the Bøyg (Peer Gynt og Bøygen). Andante [includes dialogue]

Act III
 * Prelude (Forspill): Åse's Death (Åses død). Andante doloroso †
 * Scene 4: Åse's Death (Åses død) [reprised, includes dialogue]

Act IV
 * Prelude (Forspill): Morning Mood (Morgenstemning). Allegretto pastorale †
 * Scene 5: The Thief and the Receiver (Tyven og heleren): "Lanserens tunger ..." ("The tongues of the lances ..."), for tenor and baritone. Presto
 * Scene 6: Arabian Dance (Arabisk dans): "Profeten er kommen! ..." ("The prophet has come! ..."), for mezzo-soprano and mixed choir. Allegretto vivace ‡
 * Scene 6: Anitra's Dance (Anitras dans). Tempo di Mazurka †
 * Scene 7: Peer Gynt's Serenade (Peer Gynts serenade): "Jeg stængte for mit Paradis ..." ("I locked up my Paradise ..."), for baritone. Poco Andante – Allegretto
 * Scene 8: Peer Gynt and Anitra (Peer Gynt og Anitra). Allegro vivace [includes dialogue]
 * Scene 10: Solveig's Song (Solveigs sang): "Kanske vil der gå både vinter og vår ..." ("Perhaps both winter and spring will pass ..."), for soprano. Un poco Andante ‡ ±
 * Scene 11: Peer Gynt at the Statue of Memnon (Peer Gynt ved Memnonstøtten). Largo [includes dialogue]

Act V
 * Prelude (Forspill): Peer Gynt's Homecoming (Peer Gynts hjemfart) – Stormy Evening on the Sea (Stormfull aften på havet). Allegreo agitato ‡
 * Between Scenes 1 and 2: The Shipwreck (Skipsforliset). Allegro moderato
 * Scene 5: Solveig Sings in the Hut (Solveig synger i hytten): "Nu er her stellet til Pinsekveld ..." ("Now everything is ready for Whitsun ..."), for soprano [without tempo marking]
 * Scene 6: Night Scene (Nattscene): "Vi er tanker, du skulde tænkt os ..." ("We are thoughts, you should have thought us ..."), for female choir. Adagio – Un poco Allegro [includes dialogue]
 * Scene 10: Whitsun Hymn (Pinsesalme): "Velsignede morgen ..." ("Oh blessed morning ..."), for mixed choir [without tempo marking]
 * Scene 10: Solveig's Cradle Song (Solveigs vuggevise): "Sov du, dyreste gutten min! ..." ("Sleep, my dearest boy! ..."), for soprano. Lento ±

† = Later incorporated into Suite No. 1, Op. 46 ‡ = Later incorporated into Suite No. 2, Op. 55 ± = Later incorporated into the Six Songs with Orchestra, EG 177/1–2

Some productions also include the Norwegian Bridal Procession (Brudefølget drar forbi; Op. 19/2) as a twenty-eighth number, which is not original to Peer Gynt. (Originally for solo piano, Grieg added this piece in 1886 to subsequent productions of the play, although he outsourced the orchestration to the Danish composers Georg Bohlmann and Robert Henriques (composer); in 1908, the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen made his own arrangement, which supplanted the Bohlmann–Henriques version.)


 * Scene 2: Norwegian Bridal Procession (Brudefølget drar forbi), Op. 19/2

Excerpted suites, Opp. 46 and 55
In 1888, the Leipzig-based firm C. F. Peters published Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. It includes the following four numbers:


 * 1) Morning Mood (Morgenstemning). Allegretto pastorale (E major)
 * 2) The Death of Åse (Åses død). Andante doloroso  (B minor)
 * 3) Anitra's Dance (Anitras dans). Tempo di Mazurka  (A minor)
 * 4) In the Hall of the Mountain King (I Dovregubbens hall). Alla marcia e molto marcato (B minor)

Four years later, in 1892, Peters published Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 2. It, too, includes four numbers:


 * 1) The Abduction of the Bride (Bruderovet). Ingrid's Lament (Ingrids klage). Allegro furioso – Andante (G minor)
 * 2) Arabian Dance (Arabisk dans). Allegretto vivace (C major)
 * 3) Peer Gynt's Homecoming (Stormy Evening on the Sea) (Peer Gynts hjemfart (Stormfull aften på havet)). Allegro agitato (F-sharp minor)
 * 4) Solveig's Song (Solveigs sang). Andante – Allegretto tranquillamente (A minor)

Discography
Really helpful review from NYT in 1991 comparing the recordings Recordings of the *complete* incidental music:
 * Appears Per Dreier was first (indeed, the disc refers to the performance as the "premier recording of the complete music for Ibsen's dramatic poem", although it excludes spoken dialogue. A few notes:
 * 1) Has "Peer Gynt and the Dairymaids" sung is not by three female soloists but rather by female choir
 * 2) Omits the duplication of "Åse's Death" [first as a prelude] that Ruud–BIS and Engeset–Naxos include
 * 3) Calls "Peer Gynt at the Statue of Memnon" instead "Deep in the Pine Forest" (same music but in a different spot in the performance [Salonen–Sony Classical do the same])
 * 4) Most curiously, includes two additional numbers that I cannot match to Ruud–BIS and Engeset–Naxos: in Act IV "Melodrama" and in Act V "Day Scene"
 * 5) Most inexplicably, includes as an interpolation between "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and "The Mountain King's Daughter" The Norwegian Dances Nos. 1–3!


 * Ruud–BIS is a "concert version by Svein Sturla Hungnes". A few notes:
 * 1) Includes the most spoken dialogue, indeed many, many more dialogue tracks than Engeset–Naxos
 * 2) Includes the duplication of "Åse's Death" [first as a prelude], along with Engeset–Naxos
 * 3) All music tracks seems to match up exactly 1-to-1 with Engeset–Naxos

Recordings of *excerpts* from the incidental music:

Recordings of the suites:

Fictitious:
 * Peter Stern / Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra
 * Alfred Gehardt / Royal Promenade Orchestra
 * Alberto Lizzio / Philharmonica Slavonica
 * Herbert Fleischmann / Philharmonic Ensemble Pro Musica
 * Sven Bengtson / London Festival Orchestra

In addition, several notable conductors made incomplete recordings of the two suites, including: Herbert von Karajan with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1961 (Decca, 417 722–2); Sir John Pritchard with the London Philharmonic Orchestra c. 1971 (His Master's Voice, 1C 027–05 679); and Leonard Slatkin with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1979 (Telarc, CD–80048).

Notes, references, and sources

 * Notes


 * References


 * Sources