Vanessa Lpez

Vocal Solo Lit II

Dr. Engleman
April 25, 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Signs of Hope (Op.33 Twelve melodies to poems by A.O Vinje)
No. 2 Vren (Last Spring)
No. 12 Fyreml (The Goal)
I chose these two pieces because they provide a meaning of hope at first far in reach
through Vren which describes Spring time and later with a clear happy goal. I chose
these two pieces because they are a good contrast with each other but have the common
goal of hoping for something better. One is near the beginning which is demonstrating an
unsure hope while the second one is near the end and has more assuring hope character. I
feel that there is a theme of hope through the whole song cycle but mainly these two
display hope in life very clearly.
Grieg, Edvard. 45 Songs of Edvard Grieg. Ed. Brad Ellingboe. New York: Leyerle
Publications,
1988. 38+. Print.
This print by Brad Ellingboe features just the melodic line with IPA, English translations
and Original Text. It also includes a just text pages in the back of the book with English
translation below Original Text of Verses. This helps the reader focus on what the main
line of what the singer will be singing without the accompaniment of piano or orchestra.
It is a great source for those that just want to know the melody without accompaniment
and focus more on text such as pronunciation of the text.
Grieg, Edvard. A Grieg Song Anthology. Ed. Brad Ellingboe and William D. Leyerle.
New York:
Leyerle Publications, 1990. 60+. Print.
This print by Brad Ellingboe and William Leyerle has both the vocal line,
accompaniment, english translations, and original text. This book is a great source for
those that want to learn the piece with melodic line and accompaniment. It also displays
what the original key of the piece is as well as tempo, dynamic markings, key changes,
time changes and much more. The book has an introduction with songs divided by songs
and Haugtussa with an additional appendix with names of poets who wrote texts and the
year it was composed. I will be utilizing this source to compare to his other copy of his
book which only contains just the melody.
Grieg, Edvard, and Beryl Foster. Literally Grieg: Complete Texts to All Edvard Grieg's
Songs
and Choral Music with Literal English Translations. St. Albans: RJW Enterprises,
2011.
Print.

This source provides Complete texts to all Griegs works including art songs and choral
music. Alongside the Texts are Literal English translations which I will utilize in
understanding how Grieg text paints phrases and verses. The text also contains notes on
the poets and full index of pieces for easy access to how the poet wrote and possibly why
Grieg selected A.O. Vinjes texts to adapt songs to.The text is divided with and without
Opus number for easy discovery. I will be using this source to also understand how the
two songs work in the set and how I can connect them as a mini category for a future
recital of Scandinavian Solo Art Song. Griegs works are becoming more well known and
this source will help me elaborate on why these two should be together in a set. It is
important to know the literal english word translation to understand the importance of
each word in a sentence or phrase and how it impacts the piece as a whole.
Grimley, Daniel M. Grieg: Music, Landscape and Norwegian Identity. Woodbridge:
Boydell,
2006. Print.
Daniel Grimley is a music professor at Merton College in which his book examines the
role of how music and landscape played a key role in the formation of Norwegian
identity in the 19th century that affected Griegs music. This complex source focuses on
the idea of landscape and folklorism and how it played a key role in Griegs conception
of these two pieces. It provides in depth history with categories of how it affected the
musical style of the work and their function. It also provides footnotes to connect to other
sources. It also provides narratives from these sources to support claims that Grimley
implements into the book. Although the Vinje songs are not dedicated a full chapter in the
book, they are referenced in selections to how the identity Grieg grasped influenced the
music he created.
Groop, Monica. Grieg The Complete Songs Vol. 4. Monica Groop. Roger Vignoles, 2002.
CD.
Monica Groop is a Finnish Operatic Mezzo Soprano who currently sings with the Finnish
National Opera. This is the 4th volume of Grieg songs she has recorded. On this CD she
sings both the Vren and Fyreml. Her interpretation of both is very interesting. She takes
a slower tempo on both pieces. Still having an upbeat character on the Fyreml but more
on the slower tempo side of the piece which makes the middle section sound slower than
it should. On the Vren she sings it very sweetly and tenderly. She brings up the dynamic
when she sings the second verse with the same melody and when going to the last verse,
she sings more softly and tenderly than the beginning.
Jarrett, Sandra. Edvard Grieg and His Songs. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2003.
Print.
68-79.
This source is a good source for understanding the history of the songs I am researching
including an English translation alongside the text. It also includes what voice types the
song is appropriate for and what the poem symbolizes and speaks of. In this source, I

have discovered that Greig had chosen a strophic form for the poem and that the poems
text demonstrates the metaphor of life. He also adapted three out of the four verses of the
poem into the piece. The source also continues to talk about the theoretical elements such
as dynamics, tempo, time signature, key signature, the relationship between piano and
voice, and reminiscent themes from his other works such as Morning Mood and the Peer
Gynt Suite. It also includes how the piece fits within the song cycle. The text also
discusses how the third verse could be omitted since it is a long piece and should be
shortened for recital time.
Vollestad, Per. Edvard Grieg: Orchestral Songs. Per Vollestad and Lithuanian National
Symphony Orchestra. SIMAX, 1994. CD.
Per Vollestad is a Norwegian Baritone who is known internationally and performs with
the Norwegian National Opera. In this recording he performs alongside the Lithuanian
National Symphony Orchestra. In the Fyreml he makes a drastic difference when going
from A section to B then back to a section. He is very punctual when singing the text and
sounds very triumphant. When going to the middle sections he dies down to a tender
singing mood until he climaxes back to A section with a growth in voice. In the Vren he
moves in dynamic with the orchestra but keeps it very tender through each verse.
Growing in each verse as he continues to sing and adding more emotion to the text.
Weisser, Johannes, Sren Rastogi. Visiting Grieg. Johannes Weisser. Simax Classics,
2009. CD.
Johannes Weisser is a Norwegian Baritone who graduated from the Danish Royal
Academy of Music and made his debut at age 23 with the Norwegian National Opera. In
this recording, he performs both the Vren and the Fyreml alongside pianist Sren
Rastogi. In the Vren he puts a different type of emotion on each verse as it grows to the
end. Each verse describes a different point of Spring Time and Weisser makes sure that
these differences are made in the way he emphasizes the text with each phrase. In his
version of the Fyreml he has a great contrast from the A section to the B section but not
as drastic as Vollestad. He tries to differentiate