Grainger Threesome, A

From Wind Repertory Project
Percy Aldridge Grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger (arr. Ragsdale)


General Info

Year: 2007
Duration: c. 4:25
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $100.00   |   Score Only (print) - $15.00


Movements

1. Children’s March - 1:20
2. Will Ye Gang to the Hielands, Leezie Lindsay? - 1:50
3. As Sally Sat a-Weepin – 0:55


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion (9 players), including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Castanets
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Hammerwood
  • Marimba
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Children’s March is one of the greatest of Percy Grainger’s band works. Grainger extracted a portion of Children’s March, setting it for piano, at the same time (1916-1918) as his full arrangement for band. The idea to repeat the last two-thirds of the piece (in a different orchestration) was inspired by Penelope Thwaites’ performance of the piano excerpt in her CD, “Chosen Gems for Piano” (1992 Unicorn-Kanchana Records).

Will Ye Gang ta the Hielands, Leezie Lindsay? In June 1900 Percy Grainger and his mother Rose took a holiday in Scotland. The holiday of 1900 was financed by Karl Klimsch of Frankfurt, Germany, an art dealer, amateur composer, friend of Grainger’s student years, and Grainger’s acknowledged mentor in composition. Grainger took with him to Scotland (borrowed from Klimsch) the two volumes of Songs of the North (gathered together from the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland). While in Scotland, under the impact of his first impressions of the country (and immediately afterward in London) he made 12 arrangements of Scottish folksongs for voice and piano and two for choir, using the melodies and texts from Songs of the North. His harmonization is highly original, and demonstrates the Grainger intuitive response to folk melodies.

As Sally Sat A-Weeping is an English folk song from Dorsetshire which Grainger discovered in a copy of the Journal of the Folk-song Society. It was sketched for two pianos on Jan 1, 1908, in London and finished in the fall of 1912 while Grainger was on tour in Denmark. The piece had a special meaning to Grainger because of his mother Rose’s involvement with him in making a Duo-Art piano roll (a kind of very accurate player piano) recording of the piece. The two-piano version was published by Schott in 1924, two years after Rose’s death.

- Program Note from publisher


Media


State Ratings

  • Louisiana: III
  • Texas: III. Complete


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Grainger, P.; Ragsdale, C. (2005). A Grainger Threesome [score]. Aus Arcs Music Fayetteville, Ark.