In the Hall of the Mountain King

Beginning Music Theory

Lynne Wagner
 Edvard Grieg was asked to create music for Norwegian playwright Henrick Ibsen’s play

Peer Gynt, which premiered on February 24, 1876. The original score was not published until

1908, one year after Grieg’s death, and contained 26 movements. After the score was released,

the music was organized into two four-movement suites: Suite No. 1, Op. 46 and Suite No. 2,

Op. 55. The first four-movement suite includes Morning Mood, Aase’s Death, Anitra’s Dance,

and In the Hall of the Mountain King; the second suite includes Abduction of the Bride, Arabian

Dance, Peer Gynt’s Homecoming, and Solveigh’s Song. Although the music premiered over 130

years ago, In the Hall of the Mountain King is an iconic song that is easily recognizable since it

is used in numerous ad campaigns, soundtracks, and as a standard piece in orchestras.

While the full run time of In the Hall of the Mountain King is under 3 minutes long, the

score is extensive and requires a large number of instruments. The Hallé Orchestra, conducted

by Sir John Barbirolli, used the full host of instruments for their recording of this classical

recording. Instruments included piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, timpani, trombones, a tuba,

French horns, violins, violas, cellos, bassoons, trumpets, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and bass;

vocals are also included, but are not until almost 2 minutes into the song. Released on

November 30, 2006, it was advertised on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and eMusic under The Best of

Grieg.

Another unique style point about the instrumentation in this song is that two parts were

written for the specific key of E, a trumpet part and a French horn part. The song is written in B

minor, although the clarinets’ part is written as slightly different to signify Peer Gynt sneaking

into the castle. The time signature is classis 4/4 time and the tempo begins at a steady pace of

138, but increases throughout the song. While classical songs traditionally “tell” a musical story,

not many composers are given the story and asked to create music around it.
 Grieg was able to transform the fairy tale of Peer Gynt into timeless music that allows the

listeners to picture the song with a four bar chorus that can now be heard commercially in

hundreds of commercials, movies, and sitcoms. This song also continues to be a favorite of

numerous philharmonic and symphonic orchestras, although many orchestral performances

choose to omit the vocal portion of In the Hall of the Mountain King.

The song begins in unison, with Peer Gynt’s footsteps slowly creeping into the room.

More instruments and layered chords of the same chorus create the echo of his footsteps deeper

in the room, gradually increasing in speed, intensity, and volume as he is spotted and runs. The

crashes of the cymbals create more drama as Peer Gynt runs for his life.

The vocals and cymbals are forceful and dramatic, creating a dark environment. The

lyrics, translated, call out for Peer Gynt’s death.

Slay him! The Christian's son has bewitched

The Mountain King's fairest daughter!

Slay him!

Slay him!

May I hack him on the fingers?

May I tug him by the hair?

Hu, hey, let me bite him in the haunches!

Shall he be boiled into broth and brought to me?

Shall he roast on a spit or be browned in a stew pan?

Ice to your blood, friends!

The vocal chorus is only sung once and full voice, over the now-loud and overly dramatic

orchestra. The last few lines of the lyrics are actually done as a call-out-and-answer style with
the orchestral music “answering” the questions put forth by the singers. A new dramatic part,

complemented by the flutes leading Peer Gynt out of the hall, signifies the trolls chase and

search until Peer Gynt is finally able to escape. The roll of the drums at the end of the song is

significant because the mountain tumbles and crushes the trolls chasing Peer Gynt.

The brief overview and analysis of the song seems almost insignificant when compared

to the success and popularity of a tune that has captured the hearts and love of people all over the

world for over 130 years. Pop culture has seen this song in some of the most popularized

television shows and movies over the past twenty years alone. It is important to note that this

music has not only been relegated to accompany shows and movies, but has also been used as

dramatic mood music for video games, accompaniment for thrill rides at amusement parks, and

has been used in numerous advertising campaigns for Burger King, Windows, and Nabisco.

Although Edvard Grieg could not have imagined the scope of his music’s popularity, he

was able to create the pop “hook” before it was even known to exist. “I am sure my music has a

taste of codfish in it,” he was once quoted as saying, since he lived near the ocean. Even then, he

was able to make light of the success he was fortunate enough to see before his death.
 References

Grieg, In the Hall of the Mountain King. ASV Records, Best of Grieg. Released November 30,

2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI.