The Death of Aase is one of Grieg’s most performed works, and for good reason: the strategic repetition of key musical
elements (melody, phrasing, tonality) combined with the deliberate changing of other elements (dynamics, timbre, harmony) a create uniquely memorable work, that upon hearing, feels both familiar, and yet remarkable.
Grieg slowly unfolds phrase after phrase, creating musical expectations of resolution, harmony, tessitura, and expression, to which the listener takes subconscious satisfaction in both predicting what will happen next and being surprised when Grieg diverts from the pattern.
