In the east, endless forests and deep blue glittering lakes, – in the west, from the stormy North Sea's wild jagged coastline – a desolate waste with a few pitiful fishermen's huts, the sea birds' nests clinging to the cliffs amid the crashing waves; – and then the numerous fantastically formed bays and islands, the charming and yet deeply solemn fjords, finally the lofty, immense mountain world! It hears the roar of the waves, which brings a message from the World Sea, from Niflheimr's icy realm resting in darkness, which only shines in the dazzling glare of the brief summertime. What mysterious animal life: at the coast, where millions of fish swarm in zest for life, on the lonely bird-cliffs in the magical light of the midnight sun, – in the deeps, where colossal monster shoals of herring and cod pursue each other into the distant ocean!

These innumerable wonders of Nature must of course awaken the richest folk art, and thereby was the foundation for serious, profound art actually laid. The enchanting songs, which express the whole of nature in this legend-rich land, find their voice in a thousand ways, and thus the Norwegian national soul finds its most eloquent expression in music. Edvard Grieg’s art was entirely rooted in this magical national spirit; and if he, like many others, was obliged by unfavourable artistic circumstances to spend time abroad, he was never more individual or greater than when his mood was one of fervent longing for the far north.