Assignment #5-SHAO Han-Grieg's Morning Mood

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. As a patriotic composer, many of his musical compositions are based on the beautiful nature of Norwegian, customs, and countryside scenery. The programmatic music,Morning Mood is one of the most famous pieces.

Morning Mood is part of Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, Op. 23. In this piece, Grieg depicts the beautiful nature of a Norwegian morning. The whole work presents a peaceful and idyllic scene. The music gives the impression of being in a dawn landscape. This work is one of the required pieces in many major recitals and is also well-known as a preferred textbook theme for composition and conducting majors. 

In the first part (bars 1-20), bars 1-4, the flute lightly reveals the musical theme on the dominant note of E Major. In bars 5-8, the theme is again played on the oboe. The ending shifts to G sharp major. Then, in bars 9-16, the theme is again contrasted instrumentally and tonally upward on the dominant note of G sharp Major with flute and oboe playing. The strings enter into a coherent, lyrical string timbre that serves as good harmonic support for the woodwind timbre playing the thematic image.

In the second part (bars 21-55), Grieg's sequence method of repeating and intensifying the timbral changes in F Sharp major gives us a fresh sensation, creating a picture of the sun rising. The sense of harmonic coloration that results is exceptionally natural and pleasant in Grieg's Morning Mood. Although the theme is a simple melody, Grieg uses some compositional techniques for constant modulation and repetition in different tonalities and contrasts, which contrast DYNAMICS and TIMBRE. Moreover, the tonal layout gives a very delicate and vivid feeling, mainly as the music develops and paves the way for the Strings to play the theme at a new height, giving people a bright and gorgeous sense of the sun rising. It provides a fantastic visual impression of the rising sun. 

The third part (bars 56-63): the key returns to E major. The theme is once again played by Strings and Woodwind simultaneously. The theme material is constantly split up by using Ornament to variations. The melody is written from chromatic scale to tonal note to imitate the rustling of leaves and birds singing, bringing the listener into the vivid and realistic picture of the Norwegian forest. 

 Coda (63-87 bars): The harmony emphasizes the dominant chord until the theme melody, which gives a sense of instability and anticipation. Once again, the theme is played in the dominant chord, alternating with different instruments. The piece ends very quietly on the tonic chord. 

In addition, the layout of Tonality in this work is E major --- # G major --- B major. All of those Major, bright Tonalities are in line with the meaning of Grieg's name, "Morning Mood," and the author's theme image in the first part is modulated three times to form a contrast and echo of the theme's colors. The theme is repeated repeatedly at those Major through modal progressions, giving a sense of recurrence and reminiscence， Which Symbolize the rising of the sun and the gradual brightening of colors.

On the other hand, The three occurrences of the theme reflect different arrangements in the orchestration. The flute plays the first part of the theme, an ethereal and illusory symbol of the approaching dawn. The Strings play the second part. The volume increases to show the dawn. The strings and clarinet complete the third part. The compound of timbre creates Homophonic echoes that further enhance the visual brightness. The combination of instruments used in the third orchestration is conclusive of the first two.