Night Op. 44, No. 1

Night (Nat) and Troll Dance (Trolldans) are the first and the last pieces of Grøndahl’s six-piece piano suite, In the Blue Mountain, Fairytale Suite, Op. 44 written in 1897. Nat, Op. 44, #1 sets a mood of nervous anticipation as night sets in. Suddenly, there is a virtuosic, fanciful outburst utilizing the same diminished seventh chord through every possible range of the piano. The ending is designed to move attacca or seamlessly into the second piece of Opus 44. Instead, the editor suggests continuing on with the Trolldans, Op. 44, #6, whose choreography bounces up and down the full length of the keyboard and ends with its own diminished seventh chord wild cadenza.