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Percy Grainger's relationship with the saxophone was both joyous and
far-reaching. He included the saxophone (sometimes singly, other times
within a complete family) in many of his orchestral, chamber, band and solo
works. Grainger was convinced of the ideal musical qualities of the
saxophone from his very first encounter with the instrument. In a 1943
round letter to his friends, he reminisced:
Around 1904, Balfour Gardiner & I heard our first sax-reed (a tenor) near
Frome, Somerset. A man in a country band played one to us. And I knew then
& there that I was hearing the world's finest wind-tone-tool -the most
voice-like, the most mankind-typed.
His enthusiasm was such that he owned both a soprano and baritone, and he
enlisted in a World War I armed forces band playing the soprano saxophone!
His extensive public writing about the saxophone was effusive in praise,
extolling its virtues to the highest degree. A typical example comes from
the preface to Lincolnshire Posy, in which Grainger asserts: "...to my ears
the saxophone is the most expressive of all wind instruments- the one
closest to the human voice. And surely all musical instruments should be
rated according to their tonal closeness to man's own voice!..."
Grainger was especially interested in the sonority of instrumental families,
and his particular favorite was the family of saxophones. For many years he
wanted to write for saxophone ensemble, but was unable to find an
appropriate group to try out his works. In the summer of 1943 Grainger had a
particularly strong and interested group with which to work, and he
enthusiastically wrote out saxophone ensemble parts to many of his own
arrangements and original settings, including Lisbon, The Four Note Pavane,
Prelude in the Dorian Mode, and others.
My arrangement of Irish Tune from County Derry for SAATB saxophone ensemble
attempts to extend Grainger's interest and tradition of saxophone writing to
some of his more popular works. The folk tune, Irish Tune from County
Derry, was collected many years ago by Miss Jane Ross of Ireland. It is
also found in the Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music. Grainger first
set it for chorus in 1920, and later adapted it for a variety of
instrumental ensembles. He always cast this tune in a choral manner, with
lush, piquant harmonies and thick, colorful textures; qualities preserved in
my SAATB arrangement. I have minimized the editorial markings, but all
voices should be played with smooth connection and full quality. The
dynamics should be followed carefully to allow the melody to be heard over
the dense harmony and full texture. It is my hope that the unique warmth and
poignancy of this aspect of Grainger's writing is maintained, and that
players will imbue Irish Tune from County Derry with the spirit and
enjoyment for which Grainger was known.
Paul Cohen
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