Historically, Valdres has had an agricultural economy, but tourism has grown in prominence in later years.

[2][3] The name of the district comes from the Old Norse stem words völlr (a mountainous plain) and dres (a cleaved road to be ridden on by a horse).

[8] The following second variation includes a halling from Helgelandsmoen, a small village in Hole, Ringerike.

[8] The melody of the trio section was Hanssen's self composed Hardanger fiddle "slått", which is a pentatonic folk tune, above a drone bass line.

[7] When the piece was first performed in 1904, the composer played the baritone horn part together with the band of the 2nd Regiment of Norway.