In the Hall of the Mountain King
Encyclopedia
In the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg
for the sixth scene of Act II in Henrik Ibsen
's play
Peer Gynt
, which premiered in Christiania
on February 24, 1876.
It was originally part of Opus
23, but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Although a performance of the full piece runs to slightly less than 3 minutes, its easily recognizable theme has helped it attain iconic status in popular culture, where it has been arranged
by many artists.
The piece is played as the eponym
ous Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters "the royal hall of the Old Man of the Dovrë (the Mountain King)." The scene's introduction continues: "There is a great crowd of troll
courtiers, gnome
s and goblin
s. The Old Man sits on his throne, with crown and sceptre, surrounded by his children and relatives. Peer Gynt stands before him. There is a tremendous uproar in the hall." The lines sung are the first lines in the scene.
Grieg himself wrote: "For the Hall of the Mountain King I have written something that so reeks of cowpats
, ultra-Norwegianism
, and 'to-thyself-be-enough-ness' that I can't bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt."
The simple theme begins slowly and quietly in the lowest registers of the orchestra. It is played first by the cellos and bassoons, signifying Peer Gynt's slow, careful footsteps. After being recited, the main theme is then very slightly modified with a few different ascending notes, but transposed up a perfect fifth (to the key of F-sharp major, the dominant
key, but with flattened sixth) and played on different instruments: these are the King's trolls.
The two groups of instruments then move in and out of different octaves until eventually "colliding" with each other at the same pitch; and the trolls, having spotted Peer, give chase. The tempo gradually speeds up to a prestissimo finale, and the music itself becomes increasingly louder and more melodic.
The Mountain King himself thunders onto the musical stage and runs into Peer, who quickly runs the other way; these actions are depicted with long strings of diatonic steps, interrupted by brief moments of stillness as the Mountain King looks for the hiding Peer. Peer's cover is at last blown, and the music reaches its loudest and fastest point as he runs out of the cave. A series of crashing cymbals and rapturous timpani rolls then burst forward and silence all the other instruments, with the mountain tumbling to the ground and presumably killing the trolls who had been chasing after the fleeing Peer. The piece concludes with a return to the tonic
, and ends on a final B minor chord, signifying Peer's successful escape.
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
for the sixth scene of Act II in Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
, which premiered in Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
on February 24, 1876.
It was originally part of Opus
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
23, but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Although a performance of the full piece runs to slightly less than 3 minutes, its easily recognizable theme has helped it attain iconic status in popular culture, where it has been arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by many artists.
The piece is played as the eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters "the royal hall of the Old Man of the Dovrë (the Mountain King)." The scene's introduction continues: "There is a great crowd of troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
courtiers, gnome
Gnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
s and goblin
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
s. The Old Man sits on his throne, with crown and sceptre, surrounded by his children and relatives. Peer Gynt stands before him. There is a tremendous uproar in the hall." The lines sung are the first lines in the scene.
Grieg himself wrote: "For the Hall of the Mountain King I have written something that so reeks of cowpats
Cow dung
Cow dung is the waste product of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle , bison , yak and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residue of plant matter which has passed through the animal's gut. The resultant faecal matter is rich in minerals...
, ultra-Norwegianism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, and 'to-thyself-be-enough-ness' that I can't bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt."
The music
The famous two-phrase theme, written in the key of B minor:The simple theme begins slowly and quietly in the lowest registers of the orchestra. It is played first by the cellos and bassoons, signifying Peer Gynt's slow, careful footsteps. After being recited, the main theme is then very slightly modified with a few different ascending notes, but transposed up a perfect fifth (to the key of F-sharp major, the dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
key, but with flattened sixth) and played on different instruments: these are the King's trolls.
The two groups of instruments then move in and out of different octaves until eventually "colliding" with each other at the same pitch; and the trolls, having spotted Peer, give chase. The tempo gradually speeds up to a prestissimo finale, and the music itself becomes increasingly louder and more melodic.
The Mountain King himself thunders onto the musical stage and runs into Peer, who quickly runs the other way; these actions are depicted with long strings of diatonic steps, interrupted by brief moments of stillness as the Mountain King looks for the hiding Peer. Peer's cover is at last blown, and the music reaches its loudest and fastest point as he runs out of the cave. A series of crashing cymbals and rapturous timpani rolls then burst forward and silence all the other instruments, with the mountain tumbling to the ground and presumably killing the trolls who had been chasing after the fleeing Peer. The piece concludes with a return to the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
, and ends on a final B minor chord, signifying Peer's successful escape.
Lyrics of the song in Peer Gynt
- (The troll-courtiers): Slagt ham! Kristenmands søn har dåret
- Dovregubbens veneste mø!
- Slagt ham!
- Slagt ham!
- (a troll-imp): Må jeg skjære ham i fingeren?
- (another troll-imp): Må jeg rive ham i håret?
- (a troll-maiden): Hu, hej, lad mig bide ham i låret!
- (a troll-witch with a ladle): Skal han lages til sod og sø?
- (another troll-witch, with a butcher knife): Skal han steges på spid eller brunes i gryde?
- (the Mountain King): Isvand i blodet!
- Slay him! The Christian's son has bewitched
- The Mountain King's fairest daughter!
- Slay him!
- Slay him!
- May I hack him on the fingers?
- May I tug him by the hair?
- Hu, hey, let me bite him in the haunches!
- Shall he be boiled into broth and bree to me
- Shall he roast on a spit or be browned in a stewpan?
- Ice to your blood, friends!
See also
- Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
- the play by Henrik Ibsen - Peer Gynt (Grieg) - the entire incidental music to the play
- Grieg's music in popular cultureGrieg's music in popular cultureThe music of classical composer Edvard Grieg continues to be relevant in popular culture into the 21st century. This is due to his music's fast pace, instrumentation, and similarity in feel to many popular musical genres. This is not a coincidence, since Grieg was known for taking many of his...
, including In the Hall of the Mountain King