Grainger: The Power of Love

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.

This reissue commemorates the 50th anniversary of Grainger’s death in February 1961.

Harmonium, four guitars, two mandolas, two mandolins, two ukuleles, piccolo, three clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, two alto saxophones, horn, strings, piano, baritone and choir: and that’s just the scoring for one piece, the famous sea shanty Shallow Brown.

Grainger’s Jungle Book cycle was recorded here (for the original Hyperion release) for the first time. The eleven contrasting movements vividly portray the sentiments of Kipling’s poetry and Grainger wrote of the cycle that it was ‘composed as a protest against civilization’.

Recording locations: ‘The Maltings’ Concert Hall, Snape, UK, December 1968 (CD 1: 1-14), November 1972 (CD 1: 15-19, CD 2: 1-3, 5-7, 9-10), March 1976 (CD 2: 4); unknown location, May 1927 (CD1: 8); All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, UK, February 1994 (The Warriors)

A composer with an extraordinary ear for sonority, original in his outlook, sometimes misunderstood, now revered, Percy Grainger is one of Australia’s most unique sons, and, in the words of Sir Peter Pears, one of its “most independent and single-minded spirits”. Many of these recordings, of vocal and chamber orchestra pieces, were made by Decca in 1968 and 1972 and issued, together with a 1927 recording of Grainger playing his Country Gardens and of Peter Pears and Osian Ellis performing Six Dukes wenta-fishin’ in two volumes, with the title Salute to Percy Grainger. The title is retained for this anthology and to it is added Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Deutsche Grammophon recording of The Warriors, presenting nearly two hours of some of Grainger’s finest utterances in some of their earliest (and best) performances to be captured on record. Ten of these items [CD2: 1-10] make their first appearance on CD.

The performers are a Who’s Who of great Decca artists. Benjamin Britten and Steuart Bedford share the conducting duties on the Decca recordings, and the vocalists include Sir Peter Pears, Anna Reynolds and John Shirley-Quirk, together with the Ambrosian Singers and the Wandsworth Boys’ Choir. The notes are written by celebrities too – Sir Peter Pears and Grainger scholar, John Bird – and include affectionate reminiscences. Complete song texts are included.

"This is an altogether delightful anthology, beautifully played and recorded by these distinguished artists … the recording is an extremely good one” Penguin Guide ***

“the enchantments remain … will surely give pleasure” Gramophone

Alice Coote, one of the most distinctive mezzo-sopranos of today, makes her recital debut on Hyperion with pianist Graham Johnson, a stalwart of the label and tireless explorer of vocal repertoire. The Power of Love creates what Johnson describes as a ‘pageant of English song and poetry’. It’s a journey through half a century of song, surveying not just human love but love of nature and even of money. Some of the most touching pieces here involve the loss of love through death, not least Ivor Gurney’s Lights Out and Gustav Holst’s Betelgeuse. There’s serenity, too, in mellifluous settings by Roger Quilter, while high spirits are supplied by Maude Valérie White’s The Spring has come and Warlock’s sardonic Queen Anne, which includes the immortal lines ‘I am Queen Anne, of whom ’tis said / I’m chiefly fam’d for being dead’.

The works on this CD have been chosen to highlight the performers and composers whose work has been recorded and released by Tall Poppies over the last four years. In many ways this choice has been a personal one, but we have also tried to sample the many series of CDs that Tall Poppies has initiated over the last ten years.