Wedding Day at Troldhaugen

Troldhaugen, the house Grieg built above the fjord near Bergen, is the setting of this Lyric Piece. Grieg wrote it in 1896, late in his life, when these short piano pieces were his main outlet. A wedding procession breaks off for a quiet, reflective song, then the march returns and the celebration swells to its close. Much of the piece's success is the player's ability to change character without losing the processional pulse.

The writing here makes heavy demands, from full chords and octaves to a closing crescendo that has to grow from inside the rhythm. Keep the processional pulse steady and the accompaniment light under the tune. Grieg ends with a theatrical touch, dropping from ppp to fff across a single rest. His pedal markings were written for a lighter instrument than a modern piano. The audience responds at once, and only afterwards notices how much control it took.

About this edition

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, from Lyric Pieces, Op. 65. Edition by David Whipple, from IMSLP[1], licensed CC BY 3.0[2]. Cropped and de-skewed for display.

Score source · CC BY 3.0