Categories: New & Recent Titles, BIGGIES - Grade 5.0
Composer: Percy Grainger
Arranger: Leroy Osman
Grade 5.0
Duration 8.40
PERCY ALDRIDGE GRAIHGER (1882 - 1951) was bom in Australia. lie leamed piano from his mother and gave his first recital in Melboume at age 12. At age 15 he travelled with his mother to Germany where he studied piano and composition at the Hoch conservatory in Frankfurt. Although he disliked playing the piano, he embarked on a career of piano recitals around 1900 to be able to provide money for the care of his ailing mother. he was befriended by Edward Grieg and Frederick Delius and was influenced by their works. Crrainger moved to America in 1914, played saxophone in a United States Army Band during World War 1, and became a United Stata citiaen in 1918. he composed for almost every medium, including orchestra, chonis, band. solo voice and instruments, various experimental small ensembles, organ. and piano.
Scotch Strathspey and Reel was first sketched for Band with Strings in l901»2, and later rescored for 4-part male chorus, strings and winds 1901-11. This arrangement for band by Leroy Osmon was done from the published score of the latter version.
The following is a photostatic copy of the program notes on that original publication. It is curious how many Celtic dance tunes there are that are so alike in their harmonic schemes (how- ever diverse they may be rhythmicly and melodicly) that any number of them can be played together at the same time and mingle harmoniously. Occasionally a sea-chanly will fit in perlectly with such a group of Celtic tunes.
If a room-full of Scotch and lrish fiddlers and pipers and any nationality of Eng:lish speaking chanty~singing deep-sea sailors could be spirited together and suddenly miraculously endowed with the gilt for polyphonic improvisation enjoyed, for instance, by South Sea island Polynesians what a strange
merry friendly Babel of lune, harmony and rhythm might result! My setting oi the strathspey mirrors the imagination of such a contingency, using 6 Scotch and Irish tunes and halves oi tunes that go well with each other and a chzmty that blends amiably with the lot. These 7 melodies are heard together in the
second climax oi the straihspey —- bars 103-110.
In the reel no such conglomeration of traditional hrnerstulis is undertaken, but the South Sea island type of improvised harmonic polyphony is occasionally reflected, the reel tune occurs in augmentation on the hammer~wood (xylophone), and towards the end oi the work l have added a counter~tune of my own
to the words of the sea-chanty.
The underlying tune in the strathspey is MARQUlS OF HUNTLEY and in the reel THE REEL OF TULLOCH (THUUCHAN), as given in the articles on “Stralhspey" and "Reel" respectively in Ctrovds A DlCTlONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Oi the other tunes employed in the strathspey a Scotch
tune was quoted to me by the painter Hugo Rumbold and the lrish tunes are N'983 and N’319 in THE COMPLETE PETRIE COLLECTION OF lRlSH MUSIC, edited by CHARLES VlLLlERS STANFORD (BOOSEV & Co.). The sea-chanty, \ WHAT SHALL ‘WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAlLOR?, is a
top-sail haulyards chanty from M’ Charles Rosher's fine collection, and used by his kind permission. its text is as follows:
1" man: What shall we do with at drunken sailor? ( twice)
2" man: Put 'im in the long-boat and let ‘im lay there,
Early in the morning.
Chorus: Why oh! and up she rises. ( thrice)
Early in the morning.
My setting was conceived and workeclout in the years 190l——l9ll, was scored (on tour in Norway) during‘ the fall of 1911, and the first performance took place on May 21", 1912, at a concert of my room music compositions at Aeolian Hull, London ~— my beloved mother playing one oi the guitar parts.
Percy Aldridge Orainger.
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