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Quiz about Peer Gynt  between Grieg and Ibsen
Quiz about Peer Gynt  between Grieg and Ibsen

Peer Gynt - between Grieg and Ibsen Quiz


Edvard Grieg set eight numbers of his background music to the play "Peer Gynt" by Ibsen as movements of two suites. This quiz will explore the music in the actual play's setting, which I think is better still.

A multiple-choice quiz by Arpeggionist. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Arpeggionist
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
309,788
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
227
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The opening of Act 2, and the second suite by Grieg is titled "The Abduction/Ingrid's Lament." Who, according to Ibsen's play, has abducted Ingrid? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. After being cast off by Ingrid, Peer Gynt is at his fantasies again. He happens upon a trio of herd-girls, who mistake him for what? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. After trying out his role among the herd-girls, Peer Gynt meets a mysterious young lady in green. Again he manages to convince her he's someone else - a prince. Upon hearing that she is the daughter of the Mountain King, he decides to marry her. But upon entering the mountain, the mountain trolls are not too happy with the idea. Here comes the most famous number of the suite and the play's music, "In the Hall of the Mountain King". The trolls call for Gynt's death, saying: "Slay him! The ____ has defiled the Mountain King's fairest maid!" Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The mountain trolls finally get their shot at Peer, but after a long night, the mountain collapses under the force of a mysterious... thing, the Boyg. Upon being asked: "Who are you?" The Boyg answers: Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Only one musical number graces the third act of the play, and it is also set in the first suite - titled "Aase's ____"

Answer: (One word, a natural part of life)
Question 6 of 10
6. The next number, "Morning Mood", is usually used as music depicting a scene in some field or advertising some drink. In fact, the scene it appears in in the play is set at sea.


Question 7 of 10
7. Of the eight musical numbers in the "Peer Gynt" suites, four are from the fourth act. The next number in the play is the "Arabesque".
True or false: Peer Gynt has a singing part in this number.


Question 8 of 10
8. The last movement of the second suite is titled "Solveig's Song". Besides in the suite and in the play, how was the song treated elsewhere in the musical literature? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Peer Gynt attempts a return home. But before he can make it home, he has a few more fantastic obstacles in his way. After a shipwreck and a haunting night scene (with rich and unheard of harmonies for its time), Grieg finally makes it to native soil. There is a church service being conducted nearby - a hymn is being sung. Which Christian holiday is being celebrated? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. To Peer Gynt's great fortune, he finally arrives home, and finds there his old beloved Solveig on her way to church. What does Solveig sing as the curtain drops on Peer Gynt's story (and his life)? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The opening of Act 2, and the second suite by Grieg is titled "The Abduction/Ingrid's Lament." Who, according to Ibsen's play, has abducted Ingrid?

Answer: Peer Gynt

Peer Gynt's character is immediately put to work. In Act 1 the character was exposed as somewhat a dreamer, who was always at his tall tales. Ingrid was the bride-to-be at a wedding in Hegstad, but, having second thoughts, she'd locked herself away. Gynt was persuaded to talk her out, and then accused of running off with her.
2. After being cast off by Ingrid, Peer Gynt is at his fantasies again. He happens upon a trio of herd-girls, who mistake him for what?

Answer: A three-headed troll

After learning that these three girls had lost their lovers, each to his various distractions, Gynt gladly rises to play his part as a three-headed troll who could handle the girls.
3. After trying out his role among the herd-girls, Peer Gynt meets a mysterious young lady in green. Again he manages to convince her he's someone else - a prince. Upon hearing that she is the daughter of the Mountain King, he decides to marry her. But upon entering the mountain, the mountain trolls are not too happy with the idea. Here comes the most famous number of the suite and the play's music, "In the Hall of the Mountain King". The trolls call for Gynt's death, saying: "Slay him! The ____ has defiled the Mountain King's fairest maid!"

Answer: son of Christians

The number, scored for full orchestra with muted brass blaring, winds up sounding more like a Viking chant than anything else. In Norwegian, the text comes across as bloodthirsty: "Slagt ham! Kristenmans Sön har daaret Dovregubens veneste Mö!"

The Mountain King himself, however, proves to be a much more reasonable character. He offers Peer Gynt a few tests to see if he's ready to live among the mountain trolls. Gynt passes all these tests but one - having his eyesight limited is not something he planned on putting up with.
4. The mountain trolls finally get their shot at Peer, but after a long night, the mountain collapses under the force of a mysterious... thing, the Boyg. Upon being asked: "Who are you?" The Boyg answers:

Answer: "Myself" ("Mig selv")

The answer here is a telling one. The theme of the remainder of the play is how any one character can be no more than himself. The Mountain King had said: "Among you humans you have a saying - man, be thyself..." And later when Peer meets an old German in Egypt, he states that the Boyg, too, is, "himself."
5. Only one musical number graces the third act of the play, and it is also set in the first suite - titled "Aase's ____"

Answer: Death

The number is heard twice in the play, once as the overture to the third act, and once as the accompanying music to the scene, behind the curtain.
6. The next number, "Morning Mood", is usually used as music depicting a scene in some field or advertising some drink. In fact, the scene it appears in in the play is set at sea.

Answer: True

Years have gone by in Peer Gynt's life, and as Act 4 opens he is on a ship heading across the Atlantic with three other men, telling them how he rose to financial success as a tradesman (selling slaves in America and idols in China). While in the suite and most public performances and recordings since, the music is seen as a tranquil and perfect setting to getting up in the morning, when placed in the context of the play it is made darker and deeper (which is not to say it is any less beautiful).
7. Of the eight musical numbers in the "Peer Gynt" suites, four are from the fourth act. The next number in the play is the "Arabesque". True or false: Peer Gynt has a singing part in this number.

Answer: False

The number is scored for full orchestra, with the chorus of young girls headed by Anitra. The girls sing in the play, but not in the suite. Interestingly, the Norwegian text, when set to music, is made to sound almost "Arabic", thanks to a remarkably skilled composer.

I should clarify that Peer does have one singing number only a bit later, titled "Peer Gynt's Serenade", which he sings to Anitra.
8. The last movement of the second suite is titled "Solveig's Song". Besides in the suite and in the play, how was the song treated elsewhere in the musical literature?

Answer: Grieg set the song for voice and piano, and it became one of the best known among his art songs

It is set as a lullaby. In the play Solveig is singing to Peer Gynt out in the distance: "Winter may pass by... summer may come and the year could end... you will come back to me... that much I know..." It works well as a lullaby (certainly in Norwegian).
9. Peer Gynt attempts a return home. But before he can make it home, he has a few more fantastic obstacles in his way. After a shipwreck and a haunting night scene (with rich and unheard of harmonies for its time), Grieg finally makes it to native soil. There is a church service being conducted nearby - a hymn is being sung. Which Christian holiday is being celebrated?

Answer: Whitsun

With the celebration of Whitsun, Ibsen is reminding the audience that the Christian feasts are still basically agricultural holidays, and are meant to serve practical and philosophical purposes alike.
10. To Peer Gynt's great fortune, he finally arrives home, and finds there his old beloved Solveig on her way to church. What does Solveig sing as the curtain drops on Peer Gynt's story (and his life)?

Answer: A lullaby

It is telling that the first line in the play is given to the title character's mother, the last to his lover. Solveig sings to Peer of motherly love, reminding him: "I will sing you to sleep, and I will wake you." Peer Gynt's final moments are heartwrenching when placed in the proper context onstage, and the harmonies and orchestration are underplayed to give the scene a hushed and haunted atmosphere. While Ibsen's play might have its flaws, Grieg's music was very well written. I would recommend seeing the play only in Norwegian with Grieg's music in the background.

I hope you enjoyed the quiz.
Source: Author Arpeggionist

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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