Starting with a modest collection, originally written in the 1860s as teaching pieces for his own use, Grieg’s Lyric Pieces eventually grew to ten sets. After an initial 18-year gap between Op 12 and Op 38, Grieg completed a volume every two or three years until 1901; then deliberately closed the cycle with a final piece (‘Remembrances’ Op 71 No 7) based on the very first (‘Arietta’ Op 12 No 1).
Some of the Lyric Pieces capture a mood, while others paint a picture, as the movements featured in this issue exemplify. ‘Little Bird’ Op 43 No 4 is a vivid and characterful depiction of its eponymous feathered hero going about his business, while ‘To Spring’ Op 43 No 6, is a warm, radiant evocation of the freshness and optimism brought on by the natural world reawakening after a long, cold winter. It’s easy to imagine Grieg in his little composing hut in his newly-built Troldhaugen home, watching the changing of the seasons, and drawing comfort and inspiration, as we all do, from the cycles of the natural world all around him. Given how closely we associate Grieg with images of the dramatic beauty of the Norwegian landscape, it is surprising that only seven of the 66 Lyric Pieces have nature inspired titles – and three of these are found in Opus 43, which Grieg originally titled Frühlingslieder (Songs of Spring).
In 1887, the year Opus 43 was published, are explicitly named after folk songs or dances, a further four after creatures from folklore, and six explore the arch-Romantic idea of homeland, travel, and homesickness. It is ironic, then, that in the 1860s the Danish composer Niels Gade encouraged Grieg to make his music ‘less Norwegian’!
