A Mother’s Grief

Modersorg, Op. 15, No. 4 (A Mother’s Grief, Op. 15, No. 4) by Edvard Grieg, arranged for two pianos by Greg Anderson / Full score / Difficulty: Intermediate-advanced / Duration: 3 minutes / Pages: 6 / Copyright: 2018 / Work number: 89 / Appears on the album Mother: A Musical Tribute / Spotify / Apple Music

A MOTHER'S GRIEF

In Edvard Grieg’s song, we encounter the sufferings of motherhood; it is a somber portrait of his wife Nina and her grief upon the loss of their only daughter Alexandra. The lyrics of the original hauntingly mirror their experience:

Gentle Jesus! Cruel one! To the stars you have taken my boy!
Did you need new angels there? That I must lose my joy?
Did you give him shining wings, is he in heaven’s keeping?
Help me in my helplessness, O give me tears for weeping!

— Greg Anderson & Elizabeth Joy Roe