Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
was a piano
prodigy turned composer who was known for his strange personal habits,
his colorful prose, and his equally unusual music – his many admirers
today still recognize that he possessed “the supreme virtue of never
being dull.” Born in Australia, he began studying piano at an
early age. He came to the U. S. at the outbreak of World War
I and enlisted as an Army bandsman, becoming an American citizen in
1919. He went on to explore the frontiers of music with his
idiosyncratic folk song settings, his lifelong advocacy for the
saxophone, and his Free Music machines which predated electronic
synthesizers. His many masterworks for winds include Lincolnshire Posy, Irish Tune from County Derry,
Children's March
and Molly on the Shore.
Grainger originally wrote Molly on the Shore in a 1907 string setting
as birthday gift for his mother (who exerted perhaps an undue influence
on him during her lifetime). The wind band setting is but one
of many, and it appeared in 1920. Two quotes about this piece
illustrate the uniqueness of Grainger's approach to music:
In setting Molly on the Shore
I strove to imbue the accompanying parts that made up the harmonic
texture with a melodic character not too unlike that of the underlying
reel tune. Melody seems to me to provide music with an initiative,
whereas rhythm appears to me to exert an enslaving influence. For that
reason I have tried to avoid rhythmic domination in my music -- always
excepting irregular rhythms, such as those of Gregorian Chant, which
seem to me to make for freedom. Equally with melody I prize discordant
harmony, because of the emotional and compassionate sway it exerts.
And:
One of the reasons why
things of mine like Molly
on the Shore and Shepherd's
Hey are good is because there is so little gaiety and fun
in them. While other composers would have been jolly in
setting such dance tunes, I have been sad or furious. My
dance settings are energetic rather than gay.
So what does the internet
have to say about Molly
on the Shore? Plenty!
And that's just the tip of
the iceberg. Watch a video of a great performance in the
meantime:
Percygrainger.com -
much general information on the composer with a focus on his wind band
works.
International Percy
Grainger Society - Based in White Plains, NY, they take care
of the Grainger house there as well as the archives that remain there.
They also like to support concerts in our area that feature
Grainger's music.
Grainger
Museum - in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, at the
University there.