In Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt returns to his dying mother, Åse, and takes her on one last journey: sitting on a chair for a sleigh, he describes a ride to a castle as she slips away. Grieg scored the scene for strings alone, and later placed it in the first Peer Gynt Suite, right after Morning Mood. It's the other face of the score that also gave us In the Hall of the Mountain King.
⏱3:36♪746 notes🎚Beginner🎼B minor♩50 per quarter🎹F#1 → B5🦶pedal marks
This piano version appeared in 1893 in an American music magazine, Kunkel's Musical Review. It keeps the essentials: long, slow chords climbing step by step, repeating the same lament louder and louder, then falling back. Few notes and a very slow tempo make it a beginner's piece, but it asks for real control of sound.
Bar 3 : a leap of 17 semitones in the left hand, in under half a second
Bar 17 : the left hand stretches over 16 semitones (a tenth)
Bar 23 : the busiest bar, with 36 notes across both hands
Bar 25 : the right hand shifts position by 13 semitones compared with the previous bar
Playing the Death of Åse on piano with Pianovera
At this pace the chords are easy to read in Pianovera, each hand in its own color. Wait mode gives you time to place every chord; once they sit, switch to scored Scrolling and listen to whether they sound together.
Free, with no time limit and no ads: 10 pieces in full plus the piece of the week, 30-second excerpts of the others, the first 7 lessons and the 3D hands with no limit. Premium opens all 651 pieces.
About this piece
How long is the Death of Åse?
The MIDI file lasts 3:36: 45 bars in 4/4, 746 notes, at 50 bpm (quarter notes). Slowed to 60%, it lasts 6:00.
What level do you need to play the Death of Åse?
We rate it beginner in B minor, with sustain pedal marks. The left hand stretches up to 16 semitones (a tenth) and the right hand up to 12 semitones (an octave), across 53 semitones of keyboard (F#1 to B5), at 3.5 notes per second on average. The first thing to work on: slow chords placed as a block, not rolled.
What is the hardest passage in the Death of Åse?
It is bar 3: a leap of 17 semitones in the left hand, in under half a second.
What tempo should a beginner practice the Death of Åse at?
Aim for 30 bpm (quarter notes), which is 60% of the file's tempo (50).
Is there sheet music for the Death of Åse with fingering?
Yes: 554 fingerings, 45 bars, shown in full above and as a free printable PDF.
