Grainger: Country Gardens

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.

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.

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

Music for Concert Band, played by one of the finest military bands, the Central Band of the RAF. All of the music featured here was originally composed for wind band including the ever-popular Holst Suites, Vaughan Williams’ English Folk Suite and an array of works by Percy Grainger.

Sailing By – the essential collection of British Light classics!

Decca bring you over two hours of the best and most uplifting classics in the repertoire of Britain’s fine tradition of British light music, including Ronald Binge’s ‘Sailing By’, familiar to all radio listeners as the introduction to the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4, Eric Coates’s ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’, a version of which is used as the theme tune to BBC Radio 4’s much loved ‘Desert Island Discs’ and many more nostalgic and uplifting classics

The essence of Grainger’s music is most evident in his piano pieces, having taken ownership of traditional and popular influences and rejecting outdated conventions.

Grainger’s ingenious variation, textures and moods can be heard throughout, ranging from the fantastically popular Country Gardens to the elaborate fantasy on Porgy and Bess.

Recorded in 1959