July 8, birthday of Percy Grainger: Free Music No. 1 (For Four Theremins) [1936]

Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 – 1961) is probably best known as a champion of English folk songs, many of which he arranged for orchestra.  That’s all I really knew about him and it didn’t surprise me to learn he was friends with Delius and Grieg.  What did surprise me, however, was that he was a bit of an innovator, even writing pieces for the theremin, which you will know from 1950s and 60s sci-fi films like “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

Free Music No. 1 (For Four Theremins) [1936]

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: G is for Percy Grainger

This is day 7 of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in which I attempt to blog every day (excepting Sundays) throughout the month of April. For this challenge, I am curating a collection of “classical” music pieces, which are lesser known or by lesser known composers (to me at least).Today’s composer is Percy Grainger (1882-1961). Grainger was a good-looking Australian from Melbourne who’s father that emigrated there from London where he was an architect that built a famous bridge. He grew up in an upper class family who hobbed nobbed with the likes of Nelly Melba. His father however was a philanderer who gave his mother syphilis, and she left him and took young Percy to Frankfurt where, a prodigy, he studied music.

“Faroe Island Dance Tune “Let’s Dance Gay in Green Meadow”

By all accounts his mother Rose was a stern disciplinarian, which eventually some theorize led to favor sado-masochism. Later in life after his father died, he became so close to his mother that there were allegations of incest. However, it seems he preferred whips, a collection of which along with a collection of his BSDM paraphernalia (including bloody shirts and ethnic music from Norway, England, Denmark and New Zealand), he installed in a museum he built to himself in Melbourne.

As mentioned, he did collect on Edison cylinders a vast work of ethnic music and was part of the English Folk-song revival, which included Ralph Vaughn Williams and Delius. He wove these melodies into his works and was performed his own works along with the standard repertoire of piano music in concerts he used to support himself quite handsomely.

Unfortunately, influence by Nordic culture, he became a raving anti-semite but ended up loathing German music, so that makes it all right, no? Not.

I’d never consciously listen to him, so I’d like my readers to tell me–does his music transcend his f***ed views and therefore warrant further listening?

The composer’s Wikipedia page Percy Grainger