Percy Aldridge Grainger: The Power Of Rome And The Christian Heart

Percy Aldridge Grainger was a passionate artist. He was an expressive musician who pioneered the use of folksongs in modern music along with his peers Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughn Williams. However, it is his compositions and arrangements for wind band that championed and set the foundation for the wind ensemble concept that is employed today. In order to gain a better appreciation for the composer, one must understand his background as a budding composer and musician, his compositional style and sensitivity to voice changing, and how his work is currently played by high school bands.
Percy Aldridge Grainger was born in Melbourne, Australia on July 8, 1882 to John and Rose Grainger. Since he was five, Grainger was given daily piano lessons
Although the piece was well received when it premiered with the Goldman Band in 1948, Grainger lamented its “commonplace
And I say, from a composer’s standpoint, that the amateurs are better than the professions. Because, a highly professional band […], they’re all so badly balanced because they have too few instruments. They’re too weak in the lower section. They’re generally top heavy. And that isn’t very pleasant for a modern composer to write for. […] A good amateur band, if he’s conducted by a real genius of a conductor, is just alive with joy and with a love of music.” In reviewing the Music Performance Assessment scores recorded by the Florida Bandmaster’s Association for District 14 (Palm Beach County), it was reported that from 2010-2016, District 14 high schools had played a Grainger piece for wind band 11 times over the years which include: “Irish Tune From County Derry,” “Lincolnshire Posy”, “Colonial Song”, “Shepherd’s Hey,” and “Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon.” For District 15 (Broward County) high schools, from 2013-2016, a Grainger piece for band was played 13 times and include: “Irish Tune From County Derry,” “Spoon River,” “Sussex Mummer’s Christmas Carol,” “Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon,” “Lincolnshire Posy,” “Molly On The Shore,” “Green Bushes Themes,” and “Children’s March.” It would appear that Percy Grainger’s main compositions for wind band are those that are still frequently played today and of interesting note is how “Molly On The Shore” and “Spoon River” seems to be in the circulation of Grainger’s pieces for wind band in