Holberg Suite
Encyclopedia
Holberg Suite, Op. 40 more properly "From Holberg's Time", (German
: Aus Holbergs Zeit, Norwegian
: Fra Holbergs tid), subtitled "Suite in olden style" ' onMouseout='HidePop("94151")' href="/topics/German_language">German
: Suite im alten Style), is a suite
of five movements based on eighteenth century dance forms, written by Edvard Grieg
in 1884 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Danish-Norwegian humanist
playwright Ludvig Holberg
.
It is an example of a piece of nineteenth century music which makes use of musical styles and forms from the preceding century. It can be compared with Franz Liszt
's À la Chapelle Sixtine, S.360 (1862) and contrasted with later neoclassical
works.
This suite is not as famous as the incidental music from Peer Gynt
, which is usually performed as arranged in a pair of suites itself, but many critics see them as equal.
The movements of the suite are:
The suite was originally composed for the piano, and a year later it was adapted for string orchestra. The Suite consists of an introduction and a set of dances. It is a charming, early essay in neo-classicism, an attempt to echo as much as was known in Grieg's time of the music of Holberg's time. After the vigorgous opening Prelude, Allegro Vivace, comes a stately Sarabande, Andante. Next is a graceful Gavotte, Allegretto, with a droning Musette as its middle section. This is followed by a lyrical Air, Andante Religioso, and the Suite then closes with a high-spirited Provencal dance, a Rigaudon, Allegro Con Brio.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Aus Holbergs Zeit, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
: Fra Holbergs tid), subtitled "Suite in olden style" ' onMouseout='HidePop("94151")' href="/topics/German_language">German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Suite im alten Style), is a suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
of five movements based on eighteenth century dance forms, written by Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
in 1884 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Danish-Norwegian humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
playwright Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...
.
It is an example of a piece of nineteenth century music which makes use of musical styles and forms from the preceding century. It can be compared with Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's À la Chapelle Sixtine, S.360 (1862) and contrasted with later neoclassical
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
works.
This suite is not as famous as the incidental music from Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
, which is usually performed as arranged in a pair of suites itself, but many critics see them as equal.
The movements of the suite are:
- PraeludiumPrelude (music)A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
(Allegro vivace) - SarabandeSarabandeIn music, the sarabande is a dance in triple metre. The second and third beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of quarter notes and eighth notes in alternation...
(Andante) - GavotteGavotteThe gavotte originated as a French folk dance, taking its name from the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné, where the dance originated. It is notated in 4/4 or 2/2 time and is of moderate tempo...
(Allegretto) - AirAir (music)Air , a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions.-English lute ayres:...
(Andante religioso) - RigaudonRigaudonThe rigaudon is a French baroque dance with a lively duple metre. The music is similar to that of a bourrée, but the rigaudon is rhythmically simpler with regular phrases ....
(Allegro con brio)
The suite was originally composed for the piano, and a year later it was adapted for string orchestra. The Suite consists of an introduction and a set of dances. It is a charming, early essay in neo-classicism, an attempt to echo as much as was known in Grieg's time of the music of Holberg's time. After the vigorgous opening Prelude, Allegro Vivace, comes a stately Sarabande, Andante. Next is a graceful Gavotte, Allegretto, with a droning Musette as its middle section. This is followed by a lyrical Air, Andante Religioso, and the Suite then closes with a high-spirited Provencal dance, a Rigaudon, Allegro Con Brio.
External links
- Synthesized performance of string version in MP3 format at Logos Virtual Library
- Performance of piano version on YouTube (Flash required)