Molly on the Shore and
Irish Tune from County Derry
Strings
4 Minutes and 5 Minutes
About the Composer
An accomplished composer, pianist, and arranger, Australian born Percy Aldridge Grainger is renowned as a champion of the folksong, and best known for his settings of British folk music. The composer spent the first thirteen years of his life in Melbourne, being educated by his mother Rose, before attending school at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany. Later he moved to London in 1901, where he remained until 1914. During this time, Grainger collected and arranged a substantial catalogue of English folksongs, which he spent his career setting for various instrumentations. Some of his most popular works during this period were Irish Tune from Country Derry (1902) and Molly on the Shore (1907) both of which you will hear tonight.
At the onset of World War I, Grainger moved to the United States, where he worked quite successfully as both a pianist and composer. He served in the US Army from 1917-1919 as an oboist, soprano saxophonist, and later instructor of the army band. In 1918 he became an American citizen. After his mother’s traumatic suicide in 1922, Grainger was forced to re-examine his life and made a conscious decision to abstain from performance tours. Eventually he refocused career on education, where his growing interest in amateur performances led to an extensive involvement with school and community music ensembles. Nearly a decade later, during World War II, he re-launched his career as a solo pianist, giving his final concert tour in 1948. Grainger continued to lecture and perform in schools until about 1960, when illness plagued the final year of his life. He gave his final concert on April 29, 1960 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
About the Music
Molly on the Shore was originally composed in 1907 for strings, and in 1920 Grainger arranged it for wind band. It is based on two contrasting Irish reels, “Temple Hill” and “Molly on the Shore.” In a letter to Frederick Fennell, the legendary conductor of the Eastman School of Music wind ensemble, Grainger wrote, “I strove to imbue the accompanying parts that made up the harmonic texture with a melodic character not too unlike that of the underlying reel tune . . . equally with melody, I prize discordant harmony, because of the emotional and compassionate sway it exerts.” Molly on the Shore showcases Grainger’s brilliant use of texture and is truly an animated ride from start to finish.
The tune of Irish Tune From County Derry was collected by Miss J. Ross of New Town, Limavady Co. Derry (Ireland) and like Molly on the Shore was printed in The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland (Dublin, 1855). It is arguably the most famous of all Irish tunes and Grainger’s setting is fairly straightforward, allowing the soaring melody to speak for itself. Here Grainger showcases his magnificent use of colorful sonorities and a breathtaking climax to bring the tender music to life. Both Molly on the Shore and Irish Tune From County Derry hold steadfast positions in the wind ensemble repertoire; however, tonight you will hear them both arranged for strings.