Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite for Piano, 3rd movement: Gavotte

"From Holberg's Time" (Op.40) is a suite composed by Edvard Grieg originally for piano, though he subsequently created an alternative arrangement for string orchestra. Ludvig Holberg is an important 18th century Norwegian writer and, while it was composed to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Holberg's birth, the music is not so much about Holberg himself but inspired by the music of that era which is why it was originally called "From Holberg's Time" but nowadays it is often simply known as the "Holberg Suite". The five movements of the Holberg Suite are modelled on the concept of the Dance Suite, and include Praeludium, Sarabande, Gavotte, Air and Rigaudon and these movements feature Grieg's interpretation of these styles from the Baroque Period. The music we present on this page is the 3rd movement "Gavotte" which has a contrasting middle section called a "Musette" before the "Gavotte" is repeated. The video below shows the music playing to a piano roll animation, while below the video you can play the mp3 file and see the sheet music. All the downloads can be accessed using the links in the left-hand menu - piano sheet music, midi and mp3 files.