The Nordic Melodies (2) have an interesting history: Grieg fashioned the first from a melody provided to him by Fredrik Due, a Paris-based Norwegian diplomat; for the second, he used themes that first appeared in Nos. 18 and 22 from his Op. 17 collection of piano works, Norwegian Folksongs and Dances (25), written in 1869. The first of the Nordic Melodies is entitled In Folk Style, and the second, Cow Call and Peasant Dance. Grieg later produced versions of both of these pieces for piano and for piano four-hands, the latter rarely heard, however. In Folk Style opens with a melancholy theme whose thin textures bolster its sense of desolation and icy gloom. In the middle section, harmonies turn warmer and added rhythm imparts animation, but the music never quite emerges from its dark but sweet sorrow. Still, appearances of the main theme in the latter half are ravishingly beautiful, from the ethereal dreamy one just past the midpoint to the more stately rendition that follows. Cow Call and Peasant Dance is only about half the eight-minute length of the first piece. It features a lovely, moderately paced theme of slightly nostalgic character in its first half and a lively, festive dance tune in the latter portion that Stravinsky also made use of in his orchestral work Norwegian Moods (4). The piano versions of the Nordic Melodies that Grieg fashioned are also effective, but lack the colorfully dark atmosphere found in the string orchestra rendition of the first piece.

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