Gustave Lind : Edda - Northern Suite for Piano
1 - Frigga and the Shepherd; 2 - The Magic Mead; 3 - In Flower Land; 4 - The New World (Hommage à Grieg).
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This attractive suite is actually by the British composer (Alfred) Frederic Mullen (1868-1936). It was written under one of the pseudonyms he used: Gustave Lind, but he also wrote under his own name, and as Jean Morel and Pierre Lescaut. The suites of piano pieces by this 'group' of composers were very popular in the early years of the last century, and this one appeared in 1922. It is mainly inspired by 'Told by the Northmen: Stories from the Eddas and Sagas' by Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton, and quotations appear at the head of three of the pieces. The last piece is headed by a quotation from Longfellow's 'Tegnér's Drapa', which also has a Norse theme. The last few bars seem to recall the end of Grieg's 'Salon' from the Lyric Pieces. Here are the quotations:
1 - Frigga and the Shepherd
"And in the midst stood a woman, most fair to behold, clad in snow-white robes and surrounded by a group of lovely maidens. The shepherd's boldness gave way at this awesome sight, and he sank to his knees before the Asa, Frigga, for she it was."
2 - The Magic Mead
"And once or twice in every hundred years or so, the gods allow some very favoured babe of mortal man to drink a full draught of the Magic Mead. Then, when the child grows up, he becomes a great poet, and people say he is "inspired.""
3 - In Flower Land
"The beautiful Freya was walking in her garden, and round her neck she wore her famous necklet of stars."
4 - The New World
"Build it again,
O ye bards,
Fairer than before!
Ye fathers of the new race,
Feed upon morning dew,
Sing the new Song of Love! "
My thumbnail shows an 1882 illustration by Carl Emil Doepler of Frigga sitting enthroned and facing the spear-wielding goddess Gná.
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