Two Elegiac Melodies
Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34, is a composition in two movements for string orchestra by Edvard Grieg, completed in 1880 and first published in 1881.
Background
[edit]The two movements are instrumental arrangements Grieg made of two of his 12 Melodies, Op. 33, published in 1880: these were settings for voice and piano of words by the Norwegian poet and journalist Aasmund Olavsson Vinje.[1][2]
Two Elegiac Melodies was dedicated to Heinrich von Herzogenberg.[3] Grieg also made an arrangement for solo piano.[1]
Description
[edit]It is scored for 1st violins (sometimes in two parts), 2nd violins (in two parts), violas (in two parts), cellos and double basses. The many parts allow for a thick texture when required.
"The Wounded Heart"
[edit]Norwegian: Hjertesår. German: Herzwunden.
Vinje's words, from Grieg's Op. 33 No. 3, relate that wounds have been suffered by the heart in the struggles of life, but it has survived; faith is not destroyed.[1]
The music is in C minor. There are three verses: in verse 1 the melody is played by the first violins; in verse 2 by the cellos, with an insistent quaver accompaniment from all other parts, contrasting with the other verses; and in verse 3 by the first violins, the orchestration being similar to the first verse, but heavier.
The beginning of the melody of "The Wounded Heart", played by the 1st violins
"The Last Spring"
[edit]Norwegian: Våren. German: Letzter Frühling.
In Vinje's words, from Grieg's Op. 33 No. 2, the poet describes the beauty of the countryside in spring, appearing after the snow of winter; he thinks he might be seeing it for the last time.[4]
The music is in G major. There are two verses: in both the melody is played by the first violins. The orchestration of the second verse is more developed, starting with the violins, in four parts, in high register; the rest of the strings gradually join in during the verse, until a thick texture is heard from the full string orchestra towards the end.
The beginning of the melody of "The Last Spring", played by the 1st violins
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Grieg – Two Elegiac Melodies for string orchestra, Op. 34 Utah Symphony, accessed 7 April 2017.
- ^ Edvard Grieg – Elegiac Melodies (2) for orchestra (or piano), Op. 34 Allmusic, accessed 7 April 2017.
- ^ The dedication is shown on the cover of the score.
- ^ Grieg: The Last Spring, Op. 34 No. 2 San Francisco Symphony, accessed 7 April 2017.
External links
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