(1882 - 1961)
Percy Aldridge Grainger was born at Brighton, near Melbourne, Australia, on 8 July 1882. His father left home when Percy was 8 and his mother, Rose Aldridge, assumed total control of every aspect of her son’s life. After studying at the Frankfurt Conservatory, Grainger settled in England in 1901 and began his career as a professional pianist. His good looks and striking blond hair made him a popular figure in London society. In 1914, Grainger moved to America, eventually settling in White Plains, NY, and taking US citizenship in 1918. For the rest of his life he continued to tour the world as a performer, earning a considerable fortune and giving much of it away to deserving cases. Grainger was a man of contradictions: a professional concert pianist who hated performing in public; a compassionate, vegetarian pacifist and avid reader of bloodthirsty Nordic sagas. Above all, he was a radical, a visionary and a fearless experimenter, whose musical reputation was for too long defined by that dread term ‘light music’.
Percy Grainger Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Blythe Bells
No Timpani + 3 percussion
Marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone
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Country Gardens
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) glockenspiel, 2) xylophone, suspended cymbal, 3) snare drum, 4) clash cymbals, 5) orchestral bass drum
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Handel in the Strand (arr Wood)
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) xylophone, glockenspiel. 2) snare drum, 3) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal
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In a Nutshell
Timpani + 1 percussion
Xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, tam tam
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Shepherds Hey
Timpani + 3 percussion
Glockenspiel, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, xylophone, snare drum, triangle
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Spoon River
Timpani + 4 percussion
Marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, snare drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, orchestral bass drum, tubular bells
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The Warriors
Timpani + 12 percussion
1) xylophone, 2) marimba, 3) marimba, 4) vibraphone, 5) 4 octave vibraphone, 6) glockenspiel, 7) 2 octaves tubular bells & G5 and Ab5, 8 & 9) handbells - Bb3 to C7, 10) snare drum, tambourine, wood block, 11) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, 12) orchestral bass drum, castanets, tam tam, suspended cymbal
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