grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger
(1882-1961)

Percy A. Grainger was born on July 8, 1882 in Brighton, Victoria. His father’s name was John H. Grainger, who was a well-known architect whose designs included the Princes Bridge in Melbourne. At the age of seven his mother began giving Percy strict piano lessons, teaching him a strong work ethic. He traveled his first concert tour when he was twelve. Soon after, he went to Germany with his mother (Rose), to further his study and education as a pianist and composer. From 1901 to1914, Percy and his mother lived in London where his talents became well developed and well received from audiences all over. During this time, the pieces Colonial Song and Mock Morris were published. Also during his time in Germany he became good friends with a Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg. Greig had a love for national music inspired Percy to look closely at English folk music. Along with the invention of the phonograph, Percy collected songs from folk-singers and made many famous arrangements.
In 1914, Grainger moved to America. He then resided here for the rest of his life. He became an American citizen, but took much pride in his Australian heritage.
After the war, Grainger continued his hectic life of concert tours and lectures, including tours back home to Australia. In the 1930s, he began perusing a life long dream and set up his own Grainger Museum.
In 1928, he married the Swedish artist, Ella Ström. These two met on a ship traveling through the Pacific Ocean. They were married two years later, before an audience of 25,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Grainger was considered to be a somewhat original music thinker for his time; he accomplished this with his focus medieval European music, and the music of other cultures. Towards the end of his life he worked on means for producing Free Music; music not limited by time or pitch intervals. Throughout his life Percy always loved music for wind band, and made many significant contributions to band repertoire.
On 20th February 1961, he died in New York, and is now buried in the family grave in Adelaide, South Australia.

Lord Melbourne

Grainger was thought of as a musical genius for the way that he took the language of English folk songs and turned them into “musical gems.” Lincolnshire Posy is a “musical bunch of flowers” based on folksongs that he collected on Lincolnshire, England, and each movement is a musical portrait of the singer who sang it’s melody.
The fifth movement, “Lord Melbourne (War Song),” is a fanfare written for the nobility of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill. He was a soldier, a statesman, and an ancestor of Winton Churchill. He was known for his excellent planning skills, and consideration for the well being of his soldiers. His caring and compassionate personality made him extremely popular for balladry.
In a 1926 Success Magazine article, Grainger wrote:
...in the folk-song there is to be found the complete history of a people, recorded by the race itself, through the heartoutbursts of its healthiest output. It is a history compiled with deeper feeling and more understanding than can be found among the dates and data of the greatest historian...
Grainger’s main focus was to express the elegance of these old songs, which he referred to as the “lasting testament to the spirit of mankind.” As an example of these "heartoutbursts," as Grainger called them, we have the lyrics to “Lord Melbourne.”
I am an Englishman to my birth, Lord Melbourne is my name;
In Devonshire I first drew breath, that place of noble fame.
I was beloved by all my men, by kings and princes likewise.
I never failed in anything, but won great victories.
Then good Queen Anne sent us on board, to Flanders we did go,
We left the banks of Newfoundland to face our daring foe.
We climbed those lofty hills straightway, with broken guns, shields likewise,
And all those famous towns we took, to all the world’s surprise.
King Charles the Second we did reserve, to face our foemen French,
And to the battle of Ramillies we boldly did advance.
The sun was down, the earth did shake, and I so loud did cry,
Fight on, my lads, for old England1s sake, we1ll gain the field, or die.
And now this glorious victory1s won, so boldly keep the field,
When prisoners in great numbers took, which forced our foe to yield.
That very day my horse was shot all by a cannonball,
As soon as I got up again, my aide-de-camp, he did fall.
Now on a bed of sickness lie, I am resigned to die,
You generals all and champions bold, stand true as well as I.
Stand to your men, take them on board, and fight with courage bold,
I've led my men through smoke and fire, but now to death must yield.
Rhythmic Analysis
Percy Grainger wrote the movements of Lincolnshire Posy after hearing each folk song sung by various people. "Lord Melbourne" is actually a variant of the tune, "The Duke of Marlborough." This piece is marked "free time" to allow each conductor the chance to portray his/her own interpretation of the piece, as a folk song would generally be interpreted many different ways by the various people who sing it.
o   The piece is marked "free time" at the beginning, letter B, letter C, and letter D. This is a challenge for the conductor as well as the ensemble, as there is no strict way to conduct the music at these points. There are two different ways to conduct it marked in the score, but the ultimate decision is certainly up to the conductor’s discretion. This "free time" could cause a problem for students, as they must be very attentive and know exactly how to play the rhythms as conducted.

o   The first bar of the piece that has an actual meter written is in 1/8 time. Almost every bar after this changes meter. 1/4, 2/4, 3/8, 5/4, 4/4, 4/8, and 3/4 meters are all used. The rhythms are not difficult, but the constantly changing meters make this piece challenging.
·   The piece also changes tempo several times. The beginning is marked "heavy, fierce" at quarter note = 96-120. Next comes "lively" at quarter
note = about 100. Then we see
·   "strict time" with quarter note = about 100,
·   "lively, playful" with quarter note = about 92,
·   a ritard
·   "in time" at quarter note = bout 92,
·   "lingeringly" at quarter note = about 69,
·   "free time" with quarter note = 96-120,
·   "slightly faster,"
·   "strict time" with quarter note = 80,
·   "free time" with quarter note = about 96-120, and ending with
·   "strict time" at quarter note = 72.
All of these style and tempo changes could also cause confusion within the ensemble.

MELODIC ANALYSIS

This piece consists of four different verses. Each verse consists of the same basic melody with slight modifications made to the style, rhythm, instrumentation, articulation, and length. All four of the verses alternate a slow free style with a more strict section. The opening free section contains the melodic basis for the rest of the verses. These sections suggest a triumphant and majestic style and should be played very accented and rhythmically precise. The section is marked free time and although the composer has written a quarter note equals between 96 and 120, the length between notes is left to the discretion of the conductor.

Verse 1 contains the first major variation of the theme. The variation is contained in a trumpet solo at measure 2. It is marked lively with a quarter note equaling about 100. The line is very smooth and lyrical and should be played connected and legato.

Verse 2 contains fragments of the theme passed between different instruments. This verse is also marked lively, but with a quarter note now equaling about 92.

After this fragmenting is finished, the melody passes through the lower voice at box 24 as a baritone solo. The marking for the solo is easy going and should be played as such.

Verse 3 starts with the melody played as a duet by solo piccolo and solo oboe.

At measure 44, the clarinets take over the main melody. The tempo slows down to a quarter note equals 69 and the stylistic marking reads lingeringly.

Verse Four contains a more marcato version of the opening theme and the piece ends with the free time section.

Harmonic and Formal Analysis

   “Lord Melbourne” is constructed of a very simple form and a fairly simple harmonic structure. The form of this movement is through composed entirely and made up of four verses, which have been mentioned earlier. There is no discernable form that can be thought of in this movement. The movement between free time and strict time sections is meant to portray this “gleeful inebriation” of Lord Melbourne’s folk singer. The main sections break down as suck:
·   Verse I, mm. 1-13, Free time
·   Verse II, mm. 14-34, baritone solo.
·   Verse III, mm. 36-48, piccolo and oboe duet.
·   Verse IV, mm. 49-59, Free time, Tutti.
   This movement maintains D minor as its key through the entire movement, however ending on the dominant. This use of D minor in a triumphant piece is to also portray the inebriation of the folksinger.

Artistic Representations

Eugene Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading The People.”
   This piece portrays our movement of Lincolnshire Posy through, mainly the subtitle of the movement, “War Song,” but also through the portrayal of the war in an uplifting and meaningful manner. Through the movement, Lord Melbourne is pictured positively and in an uplifting manner. The movement is very triumphant, yet leaves the listener asking what comes next at the end with the dominant. This piece works in much the same way. Liberty is leading the people into victory. Those who have fallen at her feet are dark and lonesome and the distance is blurry for that does not matter. But, Her charge is portrayed through lightness of color and a regal, yet humble stance. Her gaze peering backwards parallels the ideology of Lord Melbourne and how he treated his troops and his service. This piece also leaves the audience wanting to know more. The piece portrays a charge, not a victory, not liberty planting the flag over the defeated rival, but simply a charge. A movement toward something new. We don’t get to see where they’re going or whom they are opposing but we get to see the glory of the charge.

Claude Monet’s “The Artists’ Garden at Vetheuil” shows a style of the time period. The impressionist ideal is shown through this and is also given through the music. The world is drawn by the painter or by the composer but it is only a facsimile of the true world. This world is difficult to see yet still remains clear to the audience. The thickness of the texture is in the same plane as the texture of the movement. The dark clouds brooding in the distance give an idea of innocence coming to an end. The movement gives this same effect also through the audience’s first expectations of the piece from the name and then how it truly turns out.

Assessment Ideas and Strategies

Harmonic structure—Discuss D minor in class and the effect evoked through the final dominant. Discuss how this effect is apparent in some artwork.

Formal Structure—Discuss the shape and design of the four verses and the style in which they are used in other folk songs.

Rhythmic Structure—Warm up ideas for the free time section such as playing scales entirely on cues. Make worksheets on changing meters, i.e. exercises with filling in different measures with appropriate melodic material without going outside of the metrical system. Have students write the similarities between the rhythmic makeup of the piece of music and a the structure of a given piece of art, i.e. this movement is fairly free and chaotic at times, as is “Liberty.”

Melodic Structure—Each instrument section plays the melody at one point in time. Have the ensemble discuss who has the melody at which points of the piece and why and how is the melody different than early iterations of that melody.

Historical Background—Have students find a piece of artwork from the same time period and same movement and have them discuss, in essay form or in open forum, how the piece of artwork portrays the movement and how it relates to the music.