An ascending fourth, followed by five notes of an ascending minor scale, opens a much-quoted folk song from a region of this country that shares the beginning of its melody with the Catalonian Song of the Birds. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this country that titles three nationalistic rhapsodies by a composer who included a “shepherd-girl’s dance” in the ballet The Mountain King.
ANSWER: Sweden [or Kingdom of Sweden or Konungariket Sverige; accept Swedish Rhapsody or Svensk rapsodi] (The song is the Värmlandsvisa.)
[10e] The first of Hugo Alfvén’s Swedish Rhapsodies is titled after this time period. This time period titles a Shakespeare play for which Felix Mendelssohn wrote an overture, and later, incidental music.
ANSWER: midsummer [accept A Midsummer Night’s Dream; accept Midsommarvaka]
[10m] The Värmlandsvisa was arranged as part of this composer’s suite La Scandinavie. This composer is better known for adapting the tunes Molly on the Shore and Country Gardens.
ANSWER: Percy Grainger [or Percy Aldridge Grainger]
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