Edvard Grieg began to compose his incidental music for Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's play Sigurd Jorsalfar (Jorsalfar the Crusader) in 1873, two years before he undertook his much better known Peer Gynt music for Ibsen's verse drama. The play itself is rarely staged, although its roots in the mystical world of Nordic folklore still remain compelling, but it should not surprise us that Grieg's incidental music has achieved greater success than the original stage drama. The plot concerned the joint rulers of twelfth-century Norway, two brothers Sigurd and Øystein, and the maiden Borghild, who is loved by the first, but whose own feelings for the second go unheeded.

Grieg subsequently issued a set of three orchestral fragments and two songs from Sigurd Jorsalfar, the most famous of which is the splendid and patriotic "Homage March," with its rousing introductory fanfares, broad main melody, and touchingly reflective trio section. The march is heard only during Act III of the play, when the brothers are reconciled following a contest, "The Matching Game," which takes place in the King's Hall, as the monarchs and their respective supporters debate who shall be sole ruler, and which shall claim the hand of Borghild. She has chosen Sigurd, but he declares that his destiny lies elsewhere—he must first seek the glory of his nation abroad, and sings the patriotic song "The Northland Folk" with his warriors.

The play ends with "The King's Song," a further noble pledge to deeds of valor both at home and elsewhere, but the latter stages of the work are again dominated by the strains of the "Homage March" itself. At its second appearance, ushered in by four solo cellos, the march builds impressively toward a statement in double note values as the procession of devoted subjects of the two brothers fill the stage. Grieg's incidental music also includes "Borghild's Dream," a dramatic representation of the heroine's inner turmoil and confusion over her troth. The incidental music was scored for orchestra, tenor or baritone soloists, and chorus. Only the stirring "Homage March" is regularly performed, and any revival of the complete play is indeed a rare event.

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