Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg

Today I want to share with you one of my most favorite pieces of music: the Holberg Suite (more properly known as From Holberg’s Time) by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907).

Grieg wrote the Holberg Suite in 1884 to celebrate the 200^th birthday of the Danish poet and playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754). Composed of five movements, the suite calls upon Baroque dance forms mixed with Norwegian folk characteristics to create an early example of neoclassicism (a style in which composers sought to return to Classical era music ideals of balance, clarity, and emotional restraint). Though Grieg considered it “a perruque piece” (a phrase meaning “after the 18th century’s powdered wigs”), the Holberg Suite became one of his most admired works.

Fun fact: Grieg originally wrote the Holberg Suite as a piano piece. However, he orchestrated it for strings in 1885.

Analysis of the Holberg Suite

Praeludium

The work opens with a lively Praeludium (“Prelude”), full of energy and joy. At 0:13 in the video above, a lyrical melody sings over the rhythmic ostinato, and the first section is repeated before moving to more in-depth musical development (a characteristic of Classical-era music known as sonata form). The beautiful melody returns at 1:17, this time more serious before an exploding return to the original joyous tone.

Sarabande

The Sarabande begins at 2:34, and this movement hails directly from the Baroque-style dance. The peaceful mood contrasts with the energetic Praeludium as the strings sing with beautiful, chorale-like harmonies. Listen for the melodic motif that happens from 2:45-2:47; it dances its way throughout the movement. A soaring cello solo at 3:44 gracefully turns into a duet at 3:55, and listen to the gorgeous Classical/Romantic mix of harmonies from 4:14-4:28!

Gavotte

The third movement (6:20), an aristocratic Gavotte, uses elements from the previous movements to transition into the last half of the piece. It opens with a lilting dance rhythm that utilizes the harmonies in the Sarabande and the joy of the Praeludium. A fun melodic conversation happens from 7:33-7:48 starting with the cellos and going up into the high violins. The movement is also full of pizzicato and syncopation, which all adds to the lightness of the sound.

Air

The Air (10:50) is mournful and song-like, modeled after Bach’s “Air for the G String”. It opens in a minor key with a sustained melody over a steady ostinato (that gets transferred to the cellos at  11:27), and the first half ends softly after a brief outburst of emotion (11:37-12:00).

The second half of the Air begins subtly with some sweet, major-key harmonies. I love the dialogue that happens from 12:27-12:45 (and again later from 13:11-13:43); the now-hopeful melody sings back and forth between the violins and cellos. And 12:48 marks the beginning of some of the most beautiful sounds in the entire work. Overall, the Air is one of my most favorite pieces of music ever written.

Rigaudon

And finally, the Holberg Suite concludes with the Rigaudon, a French dance in the spirit of Norwegian folk music (15:20). It emulates the sounds of a rural fiddle player by using a Baroque style of music known as concerto grosso, where the soloists (a violin and a viola set against a pizzicato accompaniment) alternate with the full string orchestra to create contrast and texture.

The final movement of the Holberg Suite is filled with fun energy, reminiscent of the Praeludium. At 16:35 the mood changes to solemn via a shift in tonality (major to minor) and a slower tempo, and in this section of the Rigaudon, the full orchestra takes a turn to create the music. An explosive return to the opening measures concludes the work.

Holberg Suite on Piano

I had the opportunity to perform three of the five movements at my junior piano recital at Oregon State University:

Which movement of the Holberg Suite is your favorite?