"In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Norwegian: I Dovregubbens hall, lit. 'In the Dovre man's hall') is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play Peer Gynt. It was originally part of Opus 23 but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Its easily recognizable theme has helped it attain iconic status in popular culture,[1] where it has been arranged by many artists (see Grieg's music in popular culture).
The English translation of the name is not literal. Dovre is a mountainous region in Norway, and "gubbe" translates into (old) man or husband. "Gubbe" is used along with its female counterpart "kjerring" to differentiate male and female trolls, "trollgubbe" and "trollkjerring". In the play, Dovregubben is a troll king that Peer Gynt invents in a fantasy.
- ^ "What's That Quirky, Spooky Music I Always Hear In Movies? | How To Classical". WQXR. 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2024-08-22.