Holberg Suite

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Holberg Suite, Op.40 more properly "From Holberg's Time" (German: Aus Holbergs Zeit, Norwegian: Fra Holbergs tid), is 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 Danish-Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg.

It is an example of a piece of nineteenth century music which makes use of musical styles and forms from the preceding century. It can be compared with Franz Liszt's À la Chapelle Sixtine (1862) and contrasted with later neoclassical works.

This suite is not as famous as the incidental music from Peer Gynt, which is usually performed as arranged in a pair of suites itself, but many critics see them as equal.[citation needed]

The movements of the suite are:

  1. Praeludium
  2. Sarabande
  3. Gavotte
  4. Air (Andante religioso)
  5. Rigaudon

Though originally composed for the piano, the version most well known today is the arrangement by the composer for string orchestra.

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