Percy Grainger

This disc contains works by Grainger in versions for large choral forces, performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under its new Chief Conductor, Sir Andrew Davis, and featuring the Sydney Chamber Choir and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus. The recording continues on from our nineteen-disc Grainger Edition box and brings our long-running Grainger survey to an end.

Percy Grainger had a lifelong interest in poetry and prose. When he was a young boy, his mother would sing him to sleep with Stephen Foster’s Camptown Races, the memories of which were later recalled in the musical extravaganza Tribute to Foster. In his youth, Grainger was intrigued by the Icelandic sagas, which led to a deep fascination with all things Norse, and ultimately inspired works such as The Wraith of Odin. The books by Kipling were another great inspiration during Grainger’s student days in Frankfurt; Danny Deever, from Kipling’s Barrack-Room Ballads, is a grim depiction of the execution of Deever for the murder of a fellow soldier. From passages of the ‘Song of Solomon’ sprang the mammoth setting King Solomon’s Espousals.

Marching Song of Democracy was inspired by the poetry by Walt Whitman and a chance encounter with a public statue of George Washington at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. Grainger’s original plan was to write the work for voices and whistlers only, and to have it performed by a chorus of men, women, and children singing and whistling to the rhythmic accompaniment of their tramping feet as they marched along in the open air. Later Grainger realised the need for instrumental colour, and this led him to score it for the concert hall – although he did stress that ‘an athletic, out-of-door spirit must be understood to be behind the piece from start to finish’.

The setting of Swinburne’s The Bride’s Tragedy is considered to be one of Grainger’s most intensely personal works. The story tells of a girl who is to be married to a man she detests, and Grainger saw this work as ‘a personal protest against the sex-negation… that our capitalist world offered to young talents like me’.

The Hunter in His Career is a traditional ballad which takes its words from William Chappell’s collection Old English Popular Music (1838 – 40). For his setting of Sir Eglamore, Grainger turned to John Stafford Smith’s 1812 collection Musica Antiqua, in which the knight battles giants and wild boars for his beloved. The Lads of Wamphray is based on a folk-poem from Sir Walter Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border; it is an account of the noted feud between the families of Maxwell and Johnstone. Of Thanksgiving Song, Grainger wrote: ‘My Thanksgiving Song is honour-tokened to all my life’s sweethearts – to those I loved long and fully, but also to those I merely looked at but never spoke to.’

SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER CELEBRATES HIS 70th BIRTHDAY IN STYLE

30-CD box, in the packaging-style of the Messiaen Edition of 2008: tremendous value for this calibre of recorded material.

Original Jackets

The 108-page booklet includes an extended interview-article (2,500 words) with Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London, recording producer and trumpet-player.

The truly great DG / Archiv & Philips recordings from across his career, ranging from Monteverdi to Stravinsky via Handel, Bach, Mozart and Verdi.

Released to co-incide with his 70th birthday, several major performances, at least one TV appearance and the publication of his long-awaited book on Bach

One of the great advocates of period-instrument performance he has received more Gramophone awards than any other living artist … and now Sir John Eliot Gardiner is reaching the ripe old age of 70 without any signs of letting up on his almost frenetic life in music.

It’s an overwhelmingly vocal collection, a sequence of highly dramatic musical works that faithfully reflects Gardiner’s musical ideals and predilections. Sung texts and translations will be available as a digital download. The 30-CD box, in the packaging-style of the Messiaen Edition of 2008, presents the recordings in their original jackets, the 108-page booklet includes an extended interview-article with Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London, recording producer and trumpet-player. As ever with Gardiner, this provides a stimulating account of his life and music, and we plan to make the full interview, conducted earlier this year, available on the special website we are preparing for the occasion.

The birthday itself falls on 20 April 2013. Around it will be a marathon concert in London’s Royal Albert Hall, consisting of all the Bach Passions and Oratorios performed in a single day. Gardiner is also publishing a book on Bach, and there will be TV appearances as well (The Andrew Marr Show in the UK).

Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London on 7 & 8 March 2012.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra takes part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June as part of the 1000 boat flotilla celebrating the Queen’s 60th anniversary. Its musicians will play works chosen for their association with British history and London landmarks, recorded here to capture the spirit of the occasion and to serve as a memento of a unique day.

Highlights of the music include Percy Grainger’s Country Gardens, Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia!, the James Bond Theme, The Dam Busters by Eric Coates and two works by Elgar – Nimrod from Enigma Variations and Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1. The CD closes out with a performance of the National Anthem.

Grainger’s letters reflect his passion for life, music, physical experiences and language. On this disc, selected letters are read by Damien Beaument and excerpts of his orchestral works are performed by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, giving us an insight into his life and works.

Classical Music doesn’t get much more exciting than this! With the help of wonderful music (some familiar, some new) this collection encourages children to experience the fantastic array of world music styles and colourful portrayals of foreign lands in Classical Music. Featuring music from Debussy, Johann Strauss II, Copland and many others this selection will have kids thrilled with recreations of the American Wild West, learning the Jamaican Rumba, waltzing in Vienna and exploring the Steppes of Central Asia!

A fully illustrated 44 page booklet presents an adventure-filled journey around the world challenging the reader to listen, see and recreate the wonders of the countries they visit. The text is designed to be read either by an older child of 5 or 6 or with an adult for the younger children. The writer is Sarah Breeden noted for the fun and informative programmes she has written for the BBC Children’s Proms.

A popular selection of British Light Music including the theme music for the Archers, Dick Barton Special Agent, In Town Tonight, Top of the Form, Desert Island Discs and works by Eric Coates (Television March, Knightsbridge March etc.) and Percy Grainger (Country Garden, Londonderry Air). Super-budget price.

Britten and Pears early collaborations for HMV display an infectious vigour. Britten’s own works, the Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op.22 and the Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35. are given definitive readings. Also included are folk song settings by Britten, Grainger and Copland and the programme concludes with two of Schubert’s most famous songs ‘Im Fruhling’ and ‘Auf der Bruck’. Essential listening for fans of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.