Metrical Dissonance and Phrase Grouping in Selected Dances from Edvard Grieg’s Slåtter, op. 72
Abstract
Norwegian folk music fascinated Edvard Grieg, and he was determined to preserve
the enchanting sound and character of the Hardanger fiddle dances in his arrangement of
Knut Dahle’s slåtter (Norwegian folk dances) while incorporating harmonic progressions and
formal structures so that the music shared commonalities with 19th-century European art
music. He prioritized metrical dissonance, motivic structure, and the use of Lydian mode that
characterize “Gibøens Bruremarsch,” “Nils Rekve’s Halling,” “Springdans (‘efter
Möllargutten,’)” and “Skuldalsbruri. Gangar” as he sought to refine aspects of the music that
were less familiar to classical musicians and audiences. Understanding the metrical
dissonance and formal structure in Grieg’s Slåtter illuminates how this work connects with
the music of the Norwegian hardanger fiddle as well as the procedures he used to join this
folk music with his identity as a Norwegian classical musician and composer.
Comparing the metrical traits of Johan Halvorsen’s transcriptions, Grieg’s source
material, with the piano pieces reveals the ways in which he preserves and exaggerates
metrical dissonance. This technique is analyzed using procedures outlined by Harald Krebs,
Fred Lerdahl, and Roy Jackendoff to expose the metrical dissonance in three layers: low
level, the metrical, and interpretive (hypermeter). Simultaneously, Grieg uses harmony and
register to create higher-level structural organization from the many motivic repetitions heard
in each dance. He develops this material by constructing a harmonic narrative between the
tonic and dominant key areas. Through tonicization, sequences, and his own closing sections,
Grieg imbues the source material with formal structures familiar to European art music
including sentences and periods, and ternary form.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Analytical procedure -- Slåtter form -- Aspects of meter -- Grieg's phrase grouping and formal structures -- Appendix A. Halvorsen's Slåtter - selected scores -- Appendix B. Grieg's Slåtter - selected scores
Degree
M.M. (Master of Music)