PERCY GRAINGER (1882-1961): Works for Large Chorus and Orchestra - King Solomon's Espousals, Danny Deever, Marching Song of Democracy, The Wraith of Odin, The Hunter in his Career, Sir Eglamore, The Lads of Wamphray, The Bride's Tragedy, Tribute to Foster, Thanksgiving Song.

Description: Grainger's lifelong love of poetry and literature - of a particular type, tending toward the heroic, tragic and larger than life, like the composer himself - gave rise to a substantial body of memorable choral works from the earliest years of his career onward. The very earliest pieces have a vaguely Elgarian flavor, but this is soon overtaken by the rich, dense chromatic harmony that characterizes Grainger's mature style and shows his affinity with the wilder, pagan aspect of Delius. This vocabulary is ideally suited to the casting of sudden shadows over sunny landscapes, wrenching the darker passages of the texts into the foreground for maximum emotional heft. Grainger's frequent habit of throwing unexpected grinding dissonances into the midst of breezy, open-air, thoroughly tonal music of wide-eyed, folk-like innocence reminds one of his own complex personality, summed up by Ronald Stevenson as 'A sunburst in society, but a thundercloud in his private life'. The orchestrations are worthy of note, displaying his characteristically unorthodox and inventive scoring. Texts included. Sydney Chamber Choir, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Davis.