(Hugo Emil Alfven)
This suite of music is a ballet-pantomime that was composed over the years 1917 to 1922. It is derived from Den Bergtagna, an old folk tale called “The Girl Imprisoned in the Mountain”, and is the story of a shepherd girl being kidnapped by the mountain king and saved by her beloved. They would die in a snowstorm however when a troll, who had initially helped them, was angry that he had not got the girl himself and abandoned them.
Hugo Alfven used this music, with added Norwegian elements, for his work on the music for the 1934 film Synnove Solbakken (The Girl of Solbakken). The ballet is divided into four movements, with “Vallflickan dans” being one of the most played pieces:
- i. Bersvarjelse (Invocation)
- ii. Trollfickans dans (Dance of the Troll Maiden)
- iii. Sommarregn (Summer Rain)
- iv. Vallflickans dans (Dance of the Shepherd Girl)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra recordings
Naxos 8.553962
Conductor – Niklas Willen
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