Edvard Grieg was born in June 1843 in Bergen, Norway and died there in 1907. His song Våren (meaning ‘Spring’, or The Last Spring) was composed in 1880 and was soon transcribed for string orchestra, minus the voice, from which this arrangement is adapted. Våren, the poem, is spoken by someone who senses that life is drawing to a close, and that this Spring will be their last. Grieg’s musical depiction offers simple lyrical lines from start to finish. Even though it is not over sentimental there is still a sense of deep longing – not focusing so much on life’s end, but a life fulfilled.