Almost nobody writes band music like
Percy Grainger anymore. And no one really wrote like him back in his hey-day.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Holst, Vaughn Williams, and others were fantastic, but
when it comes to folk music, Grainger is by far my favorite.
First of all, he wrote so much music and
many of his compositions he either wrote or arranged for band. It would be so
cool if there was a completely Grainger concert (apparently there has been
recently and I missed it) but it would be even cooler to play a program of all
Grainger. Work in Colonial Song, Irish Tune, The Gumsucker’s March,
Lincolnshire Posy, and maybe some other stuff like Children’s March and it
would be, hands down, a fantastic show.
My personal favorites of Grainger are
Colonial Song (not just because of the saxophone solo) and Irish Tune from
County Derry. I’ve been fortunate enough to perform Colonial Song and read
through Irish Tune (only to have it be replaced by Contra Qui, Rose).
Apparently Colonial Song was not a big hit when it came out, which I think is
cray.
It’s really hard to put how much I like
Grainger into words. If you haven’t heard his music, stop whatever you’re doing
and start listening. May I suggest:
Colonial Song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IOPHrg7Lg
Irish Tune from County Derry- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPDvAHgesYw
Molly on the Shore- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wSECRpWIY
And there are some pretty good playlists
on YouTube for Grainger.
