Temple Dance from 'Olav Trygvason'

Edvard Grieg’s operatic masterpiece 'Olav Trygvason' was never finished, but Grieg (being at least somewhat practical) made piano arrangements of segments of the unfinished opera. One of these was Temple Dance, which is set here as a Grade 4 band work, well-suited to the mature high school or collegiate band.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 4 | Duration: 7:00

Instrumentation
Piccolo (1)
Flute 1/2 (4)
Oboe 1/2 (2)
Bassoon 1/2 (2)
B-flat Clarinet 1, 2 & 3 (3 each)
B-flat Bass Clarinet (2)
E-flat Contra-Alto Clarinet (1)
B-flat Soprano Saxophone (1)
E-flat Alto Saxophone 1/2 (2)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone (1)
E-flat Baritone Saxophone (1)

B-flat Trumpet 1 (2)
B-flat Trumpet 2/3 (4)
F Horn 1/2 (2)
F Horn 3/4 (2)
Trombone 1/2 (2)
Bass Trombone (1)
Euphonium (2)
T.C. Baritone (1)
Tuba (3)
String Bass (1)

Percussion (8 players):
Timpani
Snare Drum/Triangle
Crash & Suspended Cymbals/Bells/Chimes
Bass Drum/Xylophone/Vibraphone
Marimba 1 (high end)
Marimba 2 (high end)/Snare Drum
Marimba 1 (low end)
Marimba 2 (low end)

Program Notes
Edvard Grieg’s operatic masterpiece Olav Trygvason was never finished, but Grieg (being at least somewhat practical) made piano arrangements of segments of the unfinished opera; Prayer and Temple Dance is one of these. Grieg extracted Prayer and Temple Dance by arranging a little over half of “Scene III” and combining it with material from “Scene I” of Olav.

Our arrangement is in the spirit of that rehashing, although it eliminates the material from “Scene I” and replaces it with more material from “Scene III”. The arrangement contains most of the exciting segments of “Scene III”, along with a contrasting lyrical section, and will give band conductors and their musicians an opportunity to experience the wonderful 'Olav Trygvason' music in a less technically difficult or lengthy setting.

“Temple Dance” from Olav Trygvason is a Grade 4, well-suited to the mature high school or collegiate band.