Grieg: Lyric Pieces
10 of the 66 pieces, free to read, hear and print, in the composer's own order.
Open the sheet music libraryGrieg wrote sixty-six Lyric Pieces in ten books over thirty-four years, from Op. 12 in 1867 to Op. 71 in 1901, and they became the most played piano music in Norway and far beyond. Some are Norwegian folk dances, some are little landscapes, and some are pictures from the trolls and spirits of Norwegian legend.
They are in order by book. The first book, Op. 12, opens with the gentle Arietta and is within reach of a player a few years in; later books hold the famous display pieces, March of the Trolls and Wedding Day at Troldhaugen.
About the pieces
Arietta from Lyric Pieces. Op. 12 No. 1 by Gr
Sixty-six short pieces across ten books and nearly forty years of Grieg's life, written for the home rather than the concert hall, and the main reason his name was known across Europe.
Waltz Op. 12 No. 2
A waltz is in three, and is felt as one swing to the bar rather than three separate beats. Grieg built a Norwegian voice out of small pieces, taking folk material and harmonising it in a way nobody had before.
Lyric Pieces Book 1 Op. 12 No. 5 Folk Melody
Sixty-six short pieces across ten books and nearly forty years of Grieg's life, written for the home rather than the concert hall, and the main reason his name was known across Europe.
Album Leaf, Op. 12 No. 7
The seventh of Grieg's first book of Lyric Pieces, Op. 12, published in 1867.
Papillon Op. 43 No. 1
Butterfly, the piece that opens the third book of Lyric Pieces and one of the most played of the sixty-six.
Lyric Piece Book IV No. 2 Album-Leaf
Sixty-six short pieces across ten books and nearly forty years of Grieg's life, written for the home rather than the concert hall, and the main reason his name was known across Europe.
March of the Trolls, Op. 54 No. 3
From Grieg's fifth book of Lyric Pieces, Op. 54, published in 1891.
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op. 65 No. 6
Grieg wrote this festive march for his and Nina's silver wedding anniversary, and published it in 1896 in the eighth book of his Lyric Pieces. Troldhaugen was their villa by the fjord near Bergen, and the music pictures the guests arriving in procession, with a dreamy, tender middle section before the celebration returns.
Sailors Song Op. 68 No. 1
This began as a song with a singer, and on the piano the melody line is the voice. Grieg built a Norwegian voice out of small pieces, taking folk material and harmonising it in a way nobody had before.
Puck Op. 71 No. 3
From the tenth and final book of Lyric Pieces. Puck here is not Shakespeare's but the Norwegian nisse, a household sprite with a temper.