The Last Spring: Våren by Edvard Greig ~ Hayley
Assignment 5
Chong Tsz Yen Hayley 3035805497
The piece I have chosen is Våren composed by Norwegian composer Edvard Greig in 1880. It is the second movement in the Two Elegiac Melodies and is adapted from the poem of the same name by Norwegian poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. It is a programmatic piece depicting the beauty of the Nordic countryside in spring appearing after the snow of winter, and the composer muses he might be seeing it for the last time.
The piece starts off with a lighter tone contrasting the dark nature of the first movement, however a veil of melancholy remains for the rest of the second movement. The piece starts with an E minor chord, split between the violins and the viola, however it moves on to a G major chord in the second bar with the perfect dominant cadence of the cello (0:00-0:10). The shift from a minor to major chord, with the use of a crescendo and diminuendo, depicts the Nordic countryside waking up from its deep slumber in the winter and stepping into spring. The melody of the first violin is abrupted by an alternation of one quarter notes and two eight notes, and is on repeat. With the basses still absent, the harmonic shifts of the viola turns into a half-way chromatic downwards scale. The chromaticism adds tension to the music, adding traits of melancholy (0:10-0:35). Through this, the violin portrays the enchantment of spring; in contrast, the melancholic tune of the viola portrays the warm spring wind blowing across the melting snow. Proceeding without the cello, the viola then imitates the first violin (0:38-0:45); this represents spring spreading its arms, echoing throughout the land covered by thick layers of snow.
The music then shifts to B major, however with the constant use of chromaticism (0:46-0:50), it does not give the listener tranquillity or peace of mind despite being in major. The D# to D natural of the viola then shifts it from a B major to a B minor, then returning to G major shortly after. Then, it shifts again to E minor, and shortly after, back to G major. The cello uses the theme of the phrase (1:06-1:11) to lead into the conclusion of the phrase (1:31-1:33). The music swells when switching from minor to major, illustrating the winter’s losing battle to the spring which is progressively and inevitably taking over the land.
Using the theme of the song to conclude this phrase gives an impression of renewal and rebirth, where the earth is coming back to life after being buried in deep snow. The first violins then answers with repetition, while the underlying chromaticism continues to build the tension of the music (1:34-1:49). Spring is calling and is alerting everyone to its arrival. The use of viola here manages to reinforce the image of melting snow, as winter is creeping away and eventually loses the battle (1:58-2:06). It ends here with a major showing the glimmer of hope that spring has brought. The pause (2:05-2:06) indicates that winter has gone and it is time for a new chapter, showing it is time for the earth to be reborn.
The second part of this piece then begins, repeating the first part of the piece with a very different tone and orchestration. The violins begin in a high register played in pianissimo. Another interesting change comes with the violins being played in sul ponticello, where the violinist plays the bow closer to the bridge making a rather shrieking sound (2:07-2:30). When spring has taken over and the land has been reborn, everything comes to life. This part reminds listeners of birds hatching from their nests. Although new life is beautiful in its own regard, the constant use of chromaticism reminds us that it is still fragile. Then the violin bows go back to their original position, and the viola and cello join in (2:33-2:59), causing the orchestration to thicken with doublings, octaves and intensified chromaticism.
The rising tension of the piece finally reaches a climax, with the bass joining in to lead to a final fortissimo with the reiterations of accents (3:04 -3:22). Spring has completely taken over, bringing warmth and joy to the land, showering bliss and life to what once was cold and lifeless. The music then softens, moving onto a delicate sound (3:34-3:47). The shriek and the pause that follows causes a sudden change of tone (3:49-3:52), acting as a rude reminder to the composer that he may never witness such beauty again. The theme of the piece then repeats, then fades away like a beautiful landscape observed for the very last time (3:54-4:11).
Music Score for Reference:
Musescore. (2022, July 13). Våren – Edvard Grieg. Musescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://musescore.com/user/23289181/scores/7753859
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