II
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was essentially a writer in the small forms. His ill health and also probably the cast of his genius prevented him from undertaking labors that called for great concentration and endurance. But in the small forms he is one of the most delightful of the romanticists of the second half of the nineteenth century. He used harmonic color with telling results. He was a master of rhythmic effects. In particular he introduced into his music something of the peculiar folk-idiom of his country (whether he did it in conscious imitation of the folk-songs does not matter). He was one of the first of the distinctly national composers to become universally known and popular. His melody is always engaging; the national peculiarities of it are not so obtrusive or so unusual as to alienate the ordinary listener. He is distinctly easy to enjoy. He was highly successful in the creation of poetic effect, in which he was helped by the provocative unusualness of his idiom. In the musical painting of pictures, in the suggestion of moods that have a sensuous tinge, there were few of his contemporaries who can equal him.
It is evident that such a man would be successful with songs. And Grieg’s songs (there are only 146 of them) are among the most delightful we have. Some critics are glad to place him just below Schubert and Brahms. Certainly he shows in his songs a spontaneity, an élan, that is one of the prime qualities of the lyrical spirit. Like Franz, he makes his songs brief and to the point. Unlike Franz, he takes considerable freedom of form and outline and makes an easy appeal to an unsophisticated public. As an interpreter of moods he is admirable. But his songs have made their popularity probably more on their sheer beauty than on any interpretative quality.
In several of his ballads Grieg has caught a suggestion of the archaic—a certain angularity of melody which is crude yet beautiful. This is typified in ‘The Princess,’ words by the Norwegian poet Björnsen; and ‘The Old Song,’ words by Heine. But in general Grieg shows that he has little to add to the ballad or the longer vocal forms. He is at his most typical, and possibly at his best, in ‘The Swan,’[29] words by the dramatist Ibsen. Here he is using harmonic color for all it will yield. In style the song is as far as possible removed from the work of Franz, for it consists simply of a melody with chords for accompaniment. There is scarcely a suggestion of the polyphonic style. The chords, generally in a slightly unusual or altered form, are simply juxtaposed. From their contrast comes the color which is so marked in this song. No other composer, before Grieg, had done this particular thing so well and in point of originality the song can justly be included among the great ones of the world. In Ich liebe dich, which is far better known, he is in a vein that is much less fine. Here there is nothing of the national idiom. The song is indeed remarkable for the manner in which it creates emotional excitement in a mere four lines. But through it all there is something of the vulgar. It is not a song apart, like ‘The Swan,’ but one of the horde.
We must grant it as one of Grieg’s distinctions that his songs have a marked individuality and distinction, one from the other, even though this distinction is more superficial than essential. In general scheme, no two of his best songs are much alike. Each has a virtue which is peculiar to it. In ‘Solvejg’s Song’ he writes in a modal folk-style, charming, yet a little more sophisticated than a folk-song would be. ‘Autumn Storm’ is a good piece of emotional expression, though uneven. ‘The Minstrel’s Song’ shows dramatic power in a compressed phrase. ‘The Youth’ is admirable in its management of a declamation which is still melody. More items of technical interest appear in ‘The Berry,’ ‘A Fair Vision,’ and ‘My Goal.’ These, especially the last, are all songs of a high order. In ‘My Goal’ we should notice the vigor which is injected into the whole piece by the composer’s harmonic freedom. The handling of the piano part on the fff climax is especially typical of Grieg. In ‘The Berry’ the accompaniment contains a certain sort of free counterpoint, which becomes very effective in the composer’s chromatic method of handling it. ‘A Fair Vision’ (Was sah ich) makes much use of picture drawing in the accompaniment, with its glittering introduction and its delicious descending chromatic voice in the bass. The chords of the middle section, very Grieg-like in style, are particularly charming. In ‘Friendship’ the composer uses unusual chords, again, to express the feeling or the idea of unfaithfulness. The listener will be struck by the likeness of this song to Schubert’s Doppelgänger. ‘The Old Mother’ is a simple and very beautiful song, more folk-like even than is usual with Grieg. One of the most exquisite of Grieg’s songs, from the standpoint of artistry and taste, is ‘Hidden Love,’ a model of sensitive writing, in which every note can be heard and every note is in place. The deeply tragic note is not often sounded by Grieg, but in ‘By the Bier of a Young Wife’ he has achieved it superbly. This song is especially worth study for the extreme freedom of its modulation. The harmonic movement is so constant that there is scarcely any feeling of a change from key to key, but rather a sense of moving about in a musical world that is without tonality. The student should also notice the extremely effective use of dissonance. Among the shorter songs we should also notice ‘Solvejg’s Cradle Song’ and the ‘Folk-song from Langeland.’
In the long song entitled ‘From Mount Pincio’ Grieg the picture-painter is at his best. The poet stands on the mount and sees Italy spread out before him. Nature is in a mysterious and lovely mood. The peasants, with their dancing, lend animation to the peaceful scene. And the ancient Italy, the Italy of Rome, rises to his mind. One feels that Liszt should have composed this song, even though he might have made it over-pompous. Grieg has chosen to ignore the suggestion of ancient Italy in his music, using his old musical material to express the new idea. Yet this conservatism undoubtedly has the virtue of lending unity to the song, which otherwise is flawless in point of taste. The mood of mysterious nature Grieg has described best of all in his cycle, ‘From Mountain and Fjord.’ The prologue and epilogue of this group have a heroic grandeur and yet a sympathetic intimacy which we feel in great vistas of landscape. In the last number in particular the flashes of grandeur seem at times supernatural. In both these songs the declamatory style is masterfully handled. The songs within this impressive frame are short and folk-like and markedly in the Grieg idiom. Indeed, the composer, among his unpretentious songs, has written nothing more charming than ‘Ragnhild’ and ‘Ingebjorg.’