Grieg’s Journey of Dances

I offered to write this column about the last piece on Sunday’s concert, Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite, because one question has been nagging me: Why would a Romantic composer of Grieg’s stature write a piece modeled after a Baroque-era dance suite?

Here is what I can rattle off about Baroque dance suites:

• Each dance is just the right length to avoid exhausting the dancers.
• Each dance has musical elements unique to itself that define a singular character and mood, occasionally including a contrasting middle section.
• There is a built-in change in tempo (pace) between each dance.
• When you string the dances together, you get a fulfilling musical journey through contrasting styles.

I think a Baroque dance suite is attractive to a 19th century composer, because it is interesting through its variety. Also, its predictable structures liberate the composer from having to the make hundreds of rhythmic and harmonic decisions required by many of the more free-form Romantic-era genres (e.g., the tone poem). Of course, this is on top of the obvious reason Grieg chose to compose to the Baroque dances, The commission was to honor the bi-centennial of the birth of the Scandinavian author, Ludvig Holberg, who lived in the Baroque era.

When I listen to the Holberg Suite, I am struck by two things directly resulting from the model of Baroque-era dance suite. First, each movement is of a specific “mood” and “feel” that results from Grieg following his interpretation of that dance’s traditions. This chain of contrasting experiences builds the musical journey across the whole suite.

Second, the beginning might fool you into thinking it was written by a Baroque composer. But throughout the work Grieg melds his lyricism with the Baroque style. Sometimes Grieg’s personal voice even overshadows the Baroque style.

The last movement, Rigaudon, is one of my favorites. Grieg’s rendition is a feisty jump step worthy of the original Baroque dance. But, suddenly in the middle of it, Grieg reminds us who the composer is by slowing the whole 2-step down to lyrical poignancy. Eventually, we return to the jump step where Grieg ends the suite, and our concert, with a joyful and final “thump-bump-bump.” Watch and listen below to a very fun performance of Rigaudon by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Because a string orchestra does not require timpani, I will be joining you in the audience this Sunday! I will be enjoying with all of you the beautiful journey of Holberg Suite’s dance movements, as well as the beautiful journey of the entire concert.