Grainger considered the wind band an unrivaled vehicle for deeply emotional expression and a more suitable medium for transcribing early music than the symphony orchestra.
Instruments
This recording uses the specific instruments Grainger requested, including a Hammond organ, tin whistles, Swiss hand bells, bass saxophone, and steel marimbaphone.
Compositional Technique
Grainger was a pioneer in electronic music experiments, developing a concept of 'free music' involving 'free music machines' to free music from regular rhythms and pitches.
Performer Biography
The Royal Norwegian Navy Band, established in 1820, is one of Norway's five professional military bands and performs up to 150 concerts annually.
Composer Biography
Percy Grainger, the composer, left Australia for Europe with his mother at age 13, studying piano and composition in Frankfurt before touring as a concert pianist.
Compositional Technique
Grainger invented his own English vocabulary for his scores, using terms like 'reedy', 'gracefully', 'angrily', 'feelingly', 'clingingly', 'louden/soften'.
Recording & Production
This album is the first volume in a complete sequence of Percy Grainger's music for wind band, adhering strictly to his instrumental demands.
You might also enjoy...
Rhapsody in Band
People of Faith
People Of Faith
Bennett, R.R.: Suite of Old American Dances / Gershwin, G.: Rhapsody in Blue (American Tapestry)
