The Music Lover's Grainger / The President's Own US Marine Band

The newest release from Altissimo! celebrates the music of Percy Grainger, both familiar and unknown, recorded live in 2011 at a concert given in observation of the 50th anniversary of composer death, performed by the “President’s Own” US Marine Band under Colonel Michael J. Colburn in collaboration with the Choral Arts Society of Washington. The title The Music Lover’s Grainger was borrowed from one of Grainger’s many unfinished publishing projects, reflecting the world première recordings featured on the program. These include a version of “The Lost Lady Found”, the final number of Lincolnshire Posy, transcribed for band and chorus, based on Grainger’s original setting for chorus and orchestra; the original, unpublished band version of “Spoon River”, reconstructed from the recently discovered manuscript parts; and a rarely heard, otherworldly harmonization of the “Londonderry Air”, the tune of “Danny Boy”, scored for band, chorus, and organ. A significant amateur ethnomusicologist, Grainger drew extensively from folksong, collecting several hundred tunes from the English countryside himself. The repertoire recorded here includes English, Irish, Scottish, American, and Danish influences.