This self-proclaimed Introduction to Percy Grainger focuses in all but a few cases on arrangements of folk songs of the British Isles. One might miss some of the diversity of Grainger's output -- Free Music for Theremin, for instance -- but it was certainly music related to folk song for which Grainger was and remains best known. This compilation of 1990s recordings from the Chandos label, which has released a great deal of Grainger's music, offers an interesting and enjoyable selection of works illustrating the variety of ...
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This self-proclaimed Introduction to Percy Grainger focuses in all but a few cases on arrangements of folk songs of the British Isles. One might miss some of the diversity of Grainger's output -- Free Music for Theremin, for instance -- but it was certainly music related to folk song for which Grainger was and remains best known. This compilation of 1990s recordings from the Chandos label, which has released a great deal of Grainger's music, offers an interesting and enjoyable selection of works illustrating the variety of approaches the composer took to his folk models. The booklet notes lay stress on Grainger's habit of arranging and rearranging works, to a point where they exist, in equally acceptable versions from among which performers could choose at will and occasionally even combine. The disc doesn't actually contain any examples of this in the form of multiple versions of the same song, but it does feature a nice variety of Grainger settings, from the multimovement Lincolnshire Posy for wind...
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