# Was Grieg's incidental music to Peer Gynt meant to be played WITH the play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517 "2019-05-25T21:47:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/1 "2019-05-25T21:47:04Z")
The Wiki entry on incidental music points to several examples. Mendelsohn’s Mid-summer night’s music was meant to be played along with and during the play, for example. But it’s not clear to me if that was the case with the incidental music to Peer Gynt. Is there a source that clarifies how the music was intended to be performed, with regard to the play? I can’t find anything that tells me. Thanks, dopers. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/2 "2019-05-25T22:56:18Z")
Yes, Grieg composed the music to accompany the play, and they both premiered at the same performance. The much-loved and familiar Peer Gynt Suites are later re-workings, but they draw on the original score for the play. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/3 "2019-05-25T23:07:59Z")
The Wikipedia article for [In the Hall of the Mountain King](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hall_of_the_Mountain_King) says it was “composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen’s 1867 play Peer Gynt,” so clearly it was performed during the play. Anyway, that’s what [incidental music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidental_music) means: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical… Incidental music is often “background” music, and is intended to add atmosphere to the action. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/4 "2019-05-25T23:51:17Z")
Not only is is the _Peer Gynt_ music supposed to be heard in the play, it’s practically a wall-to-wall score. Ibsen wanted a ton of music in the play, and wrote a long letter to Grieg with detailed descriptions of what scenes required music. Here’s an excerpt: > [@](#): > > In the second act the scene with the three saeter-girls (Act II, Sc. iii) must be treated musically according to the composer’s discretion, but there must be devilry in it! I have imagined the monologue (Act II, Sc. iv) as accompanied by harmonies, that is to say, as melodrama. The same applies to the scene between Peer and the green-clad woman (Act II, Sc. v). Similarly there should be a kind of accompaniment to the scenes in the hall of the Old Man of the Dovre, but here the dialogue is to be considerably shortened. The scene with the Boyg is to be given in full and must also be provided with music. The bird voices are to be sung; bell-ringing and psalm-singing are heard in the far distance. > > In the third act I need a few harmonies for the scene between Peer, the woman and the troll-child (Act III, Sc. ii, 105-9). Similarly, I imagine a light accompaniment lasting from p. 121 to the end of Act II, Sc. iv. (I’m quoting from [this article](https://www.jstor.org/stable/727106?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents), which is available on JSTOR if your local library provides it.) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/5 "2019-05-25T23:58:41Z")
Yeah, I own a CD of the complete incidental music for _Peer Gynt._. The Suite is much more easy on the ears. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/6 "2019-05-26T03:25:19Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Yeah, I own a CD of the complete incidental music for _Peer Gynt._. The Suite is much more easy on the ears. This. And the play itself needs a condensed version. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-griegs-incidental-music-to-peer-gynt-meant-to-be-played-with-the-play/834517/7 "2019-05-27T03:19:21Z")
Grieg’s “The Death of Aase” from \*Peer Gynt \*is one of the most movingly sad pieces of music I’ve ever heard: [Death of Aase from Peer Gynt - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxjw6ZsHjNU)