Edvard Grieg
2 Nordic Songs
Op. 63

About Edvard Grieg's 2 Nordic Songs

The Two Nordic Songs, Op. 63, were originally written for string orchestra in 1895 and published the following year, at the same time as the arrangements for piano solo and piano duet.
The work is dedicated to Frederik Due, Norwegian and Swedish ambassador to Paris, who was also an enthusiastic amateur musician and composer, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Due had sent Grieg some compositions for violin and piano, and one of his melodies appear in the first piece, Folk Song.
The second piece, Cow Keeper's Tune and Country Dance, is a reworking of two pieces from Grieg's Opus 17, 25 Norwegian Folk Ballads and Dances: No.22, Cow Call and No.18, Peasant Dance.