It is the influence of folkloristic idioms which can be said to pervade many of Grieg's works for solo piano, including the piano sonata in E minor, Op. 7, of 1865, the Pictures from Country Life, Op. 19, and of course, the ten books devoted to Lyric Pieces, some 66 miniatures in all, which were published in the years 1867 - 1901. It was, wrote Grieg, the celebrated Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Borneman Bull who "opened my eyes to the beauty and unspoilt nature of Norwegian music," although in these works, it would be hard to overlook the demonstrable impact that was exerted upon Grieg's creative processes by the seminal German Romantic miniaturists Mendelssohn and Schumann, while Chopin's expressive instincts are also closely mirrored.

Writing to his publisher, the head of Peters Edition Henri Hinrichsen, in 1901, the composer remarked that his Lyric Pieces were "an intimate slice of life," and indeed, it would be very hard to challenge such an assertion. Book 5, published as Grieg's Op. 54, comprises of the following numbers: 1) Shepherd Boy, 2) Norwegian March, 3) March of the Trolls, 4) Nocturne, 5) Scherzo, 6) Bell-Ringing.

Of particular interest is the third of the set "March of the Trolls." As Joachim Dorfmüller has written, "Trolls are quintessentially Norwegian creatures, and it was in their honour that Grieg and his wife Nina named the plot of land on which they built their house on the outskirts of Bergen in 1884 - 1885; 'Troldhaugen' or 'Troll Hill'." Op. 54 No. 5 is a scurrying, mercurial Scherzo reminiscent of Mendelssohn's in A Midsummer Night's Dream or the Octet for strings. Op. 54 No. 6, "Bell-Ringing," was written during 1891. As Dorfmüller points out, this was a full 16 years before Debussy composed his highly impressionistic tintinabulatory piece "Cloches à travers les feuilles," from his second book of Images. Grieg's previous example is also highly colored and often distinctly avant-gardist in feel. As Dorfmüller concludes, in his Lyric Pieces, and indeed in much of his remaining piano music, "Grieg thrust aside tradition—no doubt, in the final analysis, to his own astonishment as much as to that of his contemporaries—and in his last great creative period he set out on a virtually impressionistic path."

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3.Procession of the Trolls

This piece is usually translated as it appears in the headnote above, but those familiar with Norwegian mythology often insist that trolls are something quite different from dwarfs. These puckish creatures are supposed to have a more corpulent torso and can be physically formidable. Still, they are small and full of mischief and fun, and that is how Grieg depicts their character in this charming and thoroughly delightful piece. The main theme here is among the composer's best known, one of those melodies probably recognizable to the man and woman on the street. It is a lively creation whose brisk, descending manner and playful character convey both a comical busyness and a sense of fantasy. Grieg supplies only a basic lively rhythm to underpin the melody, fully aware the quick-step march is one of those rare tunes that captures the essence of the work's title. In contrast, the middle section theme is lyrical and innocent, dreamy and sweet, as if the composer were depicting his little creatures as they slept. The main theme returns to close out this colorful little masterpiece. Performance of this work typically lasts three-and-a-half minutes.

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4.Notturno

This gently captivating piece shows both Romantic and Impressionist influences mixed with the composer's deeply felt and always effective melodic sensibility. In a 9/8 meter at an Andante tempo, the accompaniment seems to float, and the harmonic changes appear like prismatic shimmers in the ether. The melody is the more earthy element; it seems to sing in its own world, in duple meter and for the most part in A minor.

A single warm C note in the middle bass opens the piece. Chromatic notes then descend at a steady pace as a repeated major third establishes a tonal center above and the first notes of the melody speak out briefly. The first tone sounds once more and the process begins again, finally awakened.

A series of half-diminished sevenths underscores a melody that is beautiful but not pretty; there is something disconsolate about it, an unsettled desire. This nottorno is music for what the French call a "white night" when the mind is overworking and there is no hope or rest or sleep. The melody ends its unfolding on a hanging note (the flat seven of the scale) and an indefinite cadence.

The middle section is built of a series of gestures without a linear melody of any sort. The first gesture is like a bird call with an accelerating rotation between a perfect fourth followed by a trill, accompanied by rich ninth chords. The richness of sound increases in a Debussyian più mosso passage of subtle enharmonic chords, which continually repeats the same gesture (like a French horn figure from Debussy's La Mer written fifteen years later).

The initial section is recapitulated, modulates into a new key, and finally descends in a series of Gershwin-esque chords. A simple coda is built from the first birdcall-like gesture of the mid-section, and a warm modal cadence closes the piece.

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6 Lyric Pieces (v), Op.54 (arr. orchestra) - 4.Notturno

Grieg's Book V of his Lyric Pieces was composed in the period 1889-1891 and contained some of his most substantial works in the series. They are still light in texture and mood, but a bit lengthier than most of the others and filled with memorable tunes. After the composer heard an orchestral adaptation by Anton Seidl of Bellringing (Op. 54/6), he decided to arrange four of the pieces for orchestra himself. He renumbered their order, thus making this Nocturne the third piece in the expanded version here and March of the Dwarves the fourth, both of which occupied the other's position in the Lyric Pieces. This Nocturne features a lovely, melancholy main theme that adapts well to Grieg's string-dominated sonorities. The mood brightens when woodwinds and reeds take up the more animated but simple second subject. They soon yield back to the forlorn strings, however, who show almost Rachmaninovian sadness in their passion and yearning. Grieg's lighter orchestration (no percussion and little brass here) keeps the melancholy from turning overly dark, and his deft sense for color gives the music a delectable exoticism and charm. The final appearance of the second subject on solo violin is touching. This piece typically has a duration of four minutes.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi