Grainger: Country Gardens

[idiotSavant]

This version was arranged by Grainger for full orchestra recording by Leopold Stokowski's Orchestra, 1950. It's a charming piece, full of wit and humor. Grainger had grown tired of this piece, which he was required by fans to play at every concert. "They won't go home unless I play it," he said. This probably accounts for the dissonances introduced at the end of the piece in the celeste/piano and harp parts. It's really amazing to me that a composer could get so much energy out of a short piece of music, only 82 measures and barely two minutes long. After having painstakingly transcribed Grainger's notes into Notion, I have a new appreciation for the inventiveness of one of my favorite composers.

My recording is a further experiment in orchestral percussion with VSL instruments. I'm limited to 24 instruments/ensembles in MirPro, so I had to combine a lot of instruments into ensembles. Most of the percussion, for instance, is grouped into a single ensemble.

Enjoy, and as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

https://soundcloud.com/tensivity/grainger-country-gardens-sage-one-take-2