In April 1880, Grieg began composing again after a long period of travel and performing. He was inspired by the poetry of Aasmund Olafsson Vinje. Vinje (1818-1870) was truly a poet of the nineteenth century, his Romanticism following in the footsteps of Heine, Byron, and Goethe, and with a nationalistic feeling not only for subject matter, but also for language, using a "country" version of Norwegian. This suited Grieg's desire to use Norwegian folk idioms in his music, and these songs are considered his first genuinely Norwegian songs. Grieg initially set 15 poems, but published only ten of these in Op. 33, adding two others that he had composed earlier. The songs were published in two books, in multiple languages. Grieg worked closely with the translators, hoping to accurately capture the feel of the original texts, but not always succeeding, even with that close relative of Norwegian, Danish. This helps explain why the songs are much better known in Norway than anywhere else. From the simplicity of a description of nature in Langs ei Å to the breathless dance of the fleeting vision in Eit Syn, and the dissonance of bitterness in Eit vennestykke (A Broken Friendship), the music is determined by the text in each song; the mood and words of the poem determine the mood and harmonies of the music. Most of the songs are strophic, all are representative of Grieg's gift for melody, and even if the folk music idioms are not obvious, the songs are unmistakably Grieg's. The set begins with Guten (The Youth), a warning to a restless youth. This is followed by what is probably Grieg's best-known song (other than Solveig's Song), Våren (Spring), later orchestrated along with the third song, Den sårede (The Wounded Heart). Langs ei Å (Beside the Stream), the fifth song, was written in 1877, while the seventh, Gamle Mor (The Old Mother), was written in 1873, but neither is out of place with the later songs. No. 6, Eit Syn (A Vision), is one of the more popular of the 12, as are No. 9, Ved Rundarne (At Rondane), and the final song, Fyremål (The Goal). In that final song, the bitterness inherent in much of the others is resolved through Vinje's hopeful text and Grieg's strong-minded, melodious opening and lyrical middle section of his setting.

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Book 1 - 2.Våren ('Spring')

Grieg was enamored of the poetry of Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818-1870) and began to study a volume of his works in 1877. The composer was always moved by the subjects of love, nature, and loss. Vinje's transcendent ability to express powerful emotions in these realms greatly inspired him. This song's text conveys the feelings of a dying man who sadly ponders that this spring will be his last. Many consider this masterful song among the very finest Grieg ever wrote. At about five minutes, it is one of the composer's longer songs. But it is also substantial in scope, and its thematic wares contain a rare depth of expression, its piano writing a subtle, gentle beauty. The main theme is lovely and forlorn as it soars so gently and sadly. The mood grows more tense as the song proceeds, and then a ravishing variant of the theme is heard about midway through. A reprise of sorts follows, and then the song ends sadly, the piano's lovely music seeming to slowly fade like the dying man in the text. Once again, one hears passages here in which Grieg augurs Rachmaninov's melancholy but beautiful lyricism.

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