Grieg(1843-1907) - Two Elegiac Melodies
In the
late 1860s Grieg married his cousin, Nina Hagerup, and settled in Christiania
(now much less charmingly named Oslo). Life couldn't have been easy, eking
out a living from teaching and conducting, particularly as his over-zealous
studies in Leipzig had permanently damaged his health. Then, in 1874, still
aged only 31, came a stroke of good fortune: he was awarded a life annuity
from the Norwegian government (nice work if you can get it!). Maybe he
isn't exactly a “front rank” composer, but his music is equally capable
of charming the simple soul (like me) as it is the not so simple (like
Liszt).
A composer
of several choral works, reams of piano pieces, some chamber music, and
a fair stack of orchestral music, Grieg generally shunned larger-scale
forms (his celebrated Piano Concerto being the best-known exception),
believing that his strengths lay in the more intimate forms associated
with his native Norwegian folk culture. On the alter-stone of this credo
he lay over 120 songs, many of which were inspired not only by Norway but
also by Nina who, being a soprano, was equally often the intended interpreter.
The Two
Elegaiac Melodies op. 34 are an arrangement for string orchestra of
two songs from his op. 33. Shorn of their vocal element, both nevertheless
reveal their provenance through the richly-inflected speech-rhythms of
their melodic lines, simple and direct in their appeal to the listener's
emotions. Heart's Wounds is the more overtly passionate, developing
a strong compulsion in its central episode, while Last Spring (that's
“Last” as in “final” rather than “previous”) is generally more circumspect,
tender, and achingly regretful.
.
© Paul Serotsky
29, Carr Street,
Kamo,
Whangarei 0101,
Northland,
New Zealand
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