‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ is the fourth and final movement from Peer Gynt Suite no.1 by Edvard Grieg. It is also the most famous. At the point in the play when this music is played, the protagonist, Peer Gynt, has been captured by some trolls in the mountain. Peer Gynt has actually banged his head so this might just be a dream-like fantasy! He tries to escape, at first by tip-toeing so as not to wake the sleeping trolls. But when they wake he is chased around the hall of the mountain troll king. One of the interesting features of this composition is the way Grieg starts with a simple opening theme and then cleverly modifies and orchestrates it, changing dynamics and tempo along the way, to conjure up the image of frenetic trolls chasing Peer Gynt! The musical term for this is monothematic, as there is only one theme (tune) in the piece, even though Grieg plays around with it a lot. This is the first time in the suite that Grieg uses his full orchestra, and this is a good time to practice reading the “score order” we learned about at the start of this unit.

What do the following Italian instrument names translate as in English?

Fagotti

Corni

Trombe

Tromboni Tenori

Gran Cassa

Piatti



First, listen to the recording of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” while following the score. Then listen again to answer the questions.

Initially, Peer Gynt sneaks away from the troll King, 

How does Grieg make the music sound like someone creeping?

Some trolls hidden in the crooks and cracks of the old hall wake up as Peer Gynt tries to find his way out. 

How does Grieg make the music sound as though individual Trolls are opening their eyes? 

Peer Gynt keeps turning corners, represented by the modified motifs, while more and more trolls wake up and join in the chase. 

What happens to the tempo, dynamics and texture to illustrate this?

Peer Gynt realises the trolls are right behind him and as he turns one way he finds a door, but it is locked! He turns another way to find another door, but that is locked too! He turns around one final time to find the King looking down on him. This is where Grieg’s piece of music ends. 

What do you think might happen next?