Springdans

Some of Grieg's most important arrangements can be found in Slåtter op. 72, a collection of seventeen peasant dances whose dissonant harmonies had a strong influence on later composers such as Bela Bartok who likewise turned to folk music for inspiration. Grieg wrote them in Bergen between August 1902 and February 1903. The fist edition appeared in 1903. We have chosen two of the slåtter for our volume (nos. 15 and 16).
A leaf enclosed with the autograph manuscript contains in Grieg's hand, the fairy-tale that forms the basis of the folk tune The Maidens of Kivledal: Springdans [Jumping Dance], (no. 16): "In Seljord in the Telemark region there lies a small valley called Kivledal. In ancient times a tiny church once stood here. One Sunday, when the congregation had gathered at Mass, the church suddenly resounded with loud tones wafting down the mountainside. It was the three maidens of Kivledal, the last of the heathens in the valley, who herded their goats on the mountain slopes while they played a slått on the 'goat's horn'. The congregation rushed out of the church and listened transfixed to the heart-rending sounds. The preacher followed and called to the maidens, telling them to stop playing their music. When they continued to play he raised his hand and excommunicated them in the name of God and the Pope. In that instant the maidens from Kivledal and their entire herd of goats were turned into stone. And even today one can see them standing high on the mountain slope surrounded by their goats, their horns raised to their lips. Thus the legend of the slått of the Maidens from Kivledal, as preserved by the peasants of that valley and as still played on their fiddles."