John McCabe - Grieg: Slåtter, Op. 72 & Stimmungen, Op. 73 (2016)

Tracklist

01. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 1, Resignation
02. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 2, Scherzo-Impromptu
03. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 3, Night Ride
04. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 4, Folk Tune from Valders
05. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 5, Studie (Hommage à Chopin)
06. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 6, Students' Serenade
07. Stimmungen, Op. 73: No. 7, The Mountaineer's Song
08. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 1, Gibøens's Bridal March
09. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 2, John Vaestafae's Springdans
10. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 3, Bridal March from Telemark
11. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 4, Tune from the Fairy Hill
12. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 5, Tune for the Goat-Horn
13. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 6, Gangar (After "The Miller")
14. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 7, Halling from the Hallingdal
15. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 8, Bridal March (After "The Miller")
16. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 9, Niels Rekves Halling
17. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 10, Knut Luråsens Halling I
18. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 11, Knut Luråsens Halling II
19. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 12, Springdans (After "Miller")
20. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 13, Håvar Gibøens's Dream (Springdans)
21. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 14, The Bridal Procession of the Goblins
22. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 15, Skuldal's Bride (Gangar)
23. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 16, The Girls of Kivledal (Springdans)
24. Slåtter, Op. 72 "Norwegian Peasant Dances": No. 17, The Girls of Kivledal (Gangar)


Following SOMM's recent re-issue of Nielsen's Piano Music (SOMM01462) with John McCabe, we are very pleased to add another example, in our December new release, of his wonderful art as a pianist. The old, and partly damaged tapes recorded on RCA Gold Seal in 1978, have been lovingly restored by our expert engineers and the resultant sound is absolutely remarkable!

Grieg was the first great composer, in the late 1880s to travel around Norway collecting folk tunes from the rural population and these proved to be a genuine source of inspiration to him. The hardanger fiddle player Knut Dale had suggested to Grieg that some of the traditional fiddle tunes should be noted down properly to save them for posterity. By the end of 1902 Grieg had finished his work, named Slåtter, Norwegian Peasant Dances. The Slåtter and the Stimmungen (Moods) were the two last sets of piano pieces Grieg completed, 2 years before his death. The latter, is essentially an extra book of Lyric Pieces in manner, written in 1905. They represent a delightful kaleidoscope of moods and they sum up many aspects of Grieg's pianistic art.

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