Expressing National Identity

Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No.1

This is one of Grieg's best known collections of pieces, which was written for Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt which was in turn based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. Grieg's nationalistic tendencies were ignited from a young age from his exposure to folk music and conversations with his peers. He traveled extensively through the Norwegian countryside, searching for traditional musicians and absorbing their melodies. This strong affiliation with nationalism was furthered after meeting Rikard Nordraak, composer of the Norwegian national anthem.

There are certain pieces from the suite which for me strongly evoke the Norwegian countryside. The first is Morning Mood, which from the very beginning has a very pastoral, lyrical melody shared between the flute and oboe. This piece speaks to me of rolling hills, birds singing (particularly in the opening flute/oboe mimicry and trilled notes near the end), and the rising sun.

It is interesting to note after some research, that this piece is in fact intended to depict the rising sun, but when Peer wakes up in the Moroccan desert! I personally don't get the desert vibe at all, and it's interesting that since Grieg took certain pieces including this one out of the context of the play to create the suites, that people associate this music with rural Norway. I'm unsure whether it only sounds this way in retrospect, and it would be hard to say unless you heard it first as part of the play, with the desert depicted.

The other piece from this suite is In the Hall of the Mountain King. Scandinavian folklore abounds with tales of trolls and goblins that inhabit the plentiful mountains and lakes that are found in Norway and neighboring lands, and Grieg in my opinion does an excellent job of painting the scene of a huge crowd of such creatures causing 'a tremendous uproar in the hall'. As the music builds and becomes more frenzied you can easily imagine the creatures dancing around demanding their piece of the prize:

May I hack him on the fingers?
May I tug him by the hair?
Hu, hey, let me bite him in the haunches!

Grieg once complained of its “exaggerated Norwegian nationalism", confirming that the inspiration for the musical landscape for this scene in the play indeed came from his homeland.


Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

I had the good fortune to see this piece performed live last month by the London Concert Orchestra. Vaughan Williams apparently worked on this piece outside while watching British battleships leave England to cross the channel. While listening to this music, the subdued and long orchestral chords in the beginning create a sense of space while the solo violin, as the lark, glides and meanders through it.

Vaughan Williams based the piece on a poem by George Meredith called The Lark Ascending, and prefaced the score with some lines from the text. Vaughan Williams created the work from a shorter romance for violin and piano that he had written previously. Shortly after returning home from serving in the First World War he revised and orchestrated it. The piece seems to yearn for a return to simpler times, no doubt influenced by the composer's war experiences.

I think the Englishness of this piece comes from its lush pastoral writing, which depicts the rolling hills and peaceful tranquility of the English countryside. This piece evokes strong images for me of the freedom of the lark as it transverses the sky on a calm summers day with peaceful farm activity taking place in the fields below. I am able to relate to the sentimentality and nostalgia in the music as I very much enjoy getting out into the countryside as much as possible. Around halfway through the piece there is a short orchestral section which seems to be a nod to Vaughan Williams love of English folk songs, before the lark takes the focus once more.