Edvard Grieg. Holberg Suite. Op. 40

www.flutemaster... The Holberg Suite, Op. 40, more properly "From Holberg's Time" - a suite of five movements based on eighteenth century dance forms, written by Edvard Grieg in 1884 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Dano-Norwegian humanist playwright Ludvig Holberg.
Praeludium (Allegro vivace)
Sarabande (Andante)
Gavotte (Allegretto)
Air (Andante religioso)
Rigaudon (Allegro con brio)
The Holberg Suite was originally composed for the piano, but a year later was adapted by Grieg himself for string orchestra. The suite consists of an introduction and a set of dances. It is an early essay in neoclassicism, an attempt to echo as much as was known in Grieg's time of the music of Holberg's era.