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MOLLY ON THE SHORE – PERCY GRAINGER Performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra Secondary Showcase Song to Symphony 5 March 2015 The resource content has been designed as teaching notes and activities for students in years 7 – 12 in preparation or as follow-up to attending a QSO Concert or as a stand-alone resource. The Composer – Percy Grainger Percy Grainger Web sites • Born on 8 July 1882 in Brighton, Victoria, Australia. • The International Percy Grainger Society • • Toured as a pianist at the age of 12 and then went to Germany and London to study as a pianist and composer. Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne. The museum was set up by Grainger in 1930s. • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. • Good friend Edvard Grieg inspired Grainger to study and gain inspiration from folk songs. • Grainger gathered folksongs from many countries and composed using these melodies as inspiration. • Died in 1961. His body was flown to Adelaide where he is buried. Interesting Facts • The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA have approved the name Grainger named after Percy Grainger for one of the craters on the planet Mercury. • Grainger’s father was an architect in Melbourne and designed the Princes Bridge. • Percy Grainger was also an artist and seriously made a decision to follow music rather than art. He learnt from Frederick McCubbin (Heidleberg School of Australian Art) and was also good friends with artists, Tom Roberts and Norman Lindsay. The Composer – Percy Grainger – Famous Compositions Percy Grainger • Country Gardens. This composition was based on the old English Song English Country Gardens. • Irish Tune from County Derry. Grainger uses the Irish melody also known as Danny Boy or Londonderry Air. Performed by Melbourne String Ensemble. • Children’s March (Over the Hills and Far Away). Vision of children from around the world and though all eras. • Shepherd’s Hey. Showcase traditional style performances with piano accordion, Violin (fiddle), guitar and Irish bagpipes with orchestra accompaniment (starts at 2:40). • Tribute to Stephen Foster. Featuring American folk songs with choir and unusual “instruments” such as glasses of water and a marimba played with a violin bow in the slow section. Molly on the Shore – Percy Grainger’s Composition • Composed in 1907 as a birthday present for his Grainger wrote to Frederick Fennell about composing Molly on the Shore, mother. • Grainger originally composed this for string quartet or string orchestra (double bass added). • In 1920 it was then arranged for both concert band and orchestra. • Features woodwind section and opens with clarinet. • Arrangement of two contrasting reels, Temple Hill and Molly on the Shore. "in setting Molly on the Shore, 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. Melody seems to me to provide music with initiative, where as rhythm appears to me to exert an enslaving influence. For that reason I have tried to avoid regular rhythmic domination in my music - always excepting irregular rhythms, such as those of Gregorian Chant, which seem to me to make for freedom. Equally with melody, I prize discordant harmony, because of the emotional and compassionate sway it exerts”. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Listen and Watch Percy Grainger • Molly on the Shore performed on piano – follow the piano score. • Molly on the Shore performed on violin and piano. • Molly on the Shore performed by an orchestra. • Molly on the Shore performed as a Celtic reel. • Grainger plays Pergodas by Claude Debussy and speaks about Debussy’s inspiration from Javanese music. This was recorded in 1948. Molly on the Shore - Original Irish melody Molly on the Shore Percy Grainger used two Reels (dance melodies) from County Cork in Ireland to create the composition, Molly on the Shore. Molly on the Shore is No.902 in the book The Complete Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music edited by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Temple Hill – Original Irish melody Temple Hill Percy Grainger used two Reels (dance melodies) from County Cork in Ireland to create the composition, Molly on the Shore. Temple Hill is No.901 in the book The Complete Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music edited by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Molly on the Shore – the elements Molly on the Shore is a dance melody and originally written for a ‘fiddle four some’ (string quartet). Key of G Major (note F#) 1st and 2nd time endings Anacrusis Time signature is 4/4 • http://thesession.org/tunes/3741 • http://www.percygrainger.org/prognot7.htm which means 4 crotchet beats in each bar. Repeat signs. Find the other repeat sign. The tempo for this dance, and in Percy Grainger’s composition is Presto. Presto means very fast. Find the triplets. 4th beat of this bar is the Play 3 notes evening anacrusis at the in the beat. beginning of the melody Molly on the Shore – Instrumentation for full orchestra Woodwind Percussion Piccolo • side drum 2 Flutes • Cymbals 2 Clarinets • Glockenspeil 2 Bassoons • Xylophone. Brass Celeste 4 French Horns Hawkes Resonaphone (like a 2 Trumpets Bass Glockenspeil or a marimba) 3 Trombones Strings Tuba Violin Percussion Viola Kettle Drum (Timpani) Cello Double Bass Molly on the Shore – About the Music Opening – the melody The tempo (or speed) of Molly on the Shore is Presto – Lively and fast. Percy Grainger is renowned for using unusual combinations of instruments in his compositions. In Molly on the Shore the melody is introduced by the viola . Read the melody written in alto clef. How fast can you play the melody? The cellos keep the beat. The alto clef is used by the viola. Middle C is written on the middle line. The first note is a B Molly on the Shore – About the Music Opening – the melody (cont.) The cellos and double basses then take over the melody followed by the bassoons. They are all low sounding instruments. The higher strings are playing an accompaniment on the 2nd and 4th beats. Read the melody written for cello and double bass and one octave distance in bass clef. The bass clef is used by the low sounding instruments including double bass, bassoon, trombone and tuba. Molly on the Shore – About the Music The Accompaniment Percy Grainger wrote at the beginning of the piece : “N.B. Keep 4 beats ( l l l l) hammering away in every bar throughout the piece, even in the soft bits.” The violins, often the instruments which plays the melody, pluck notes to the beat as the accompaniment to the melody. Play the accompaniment or listen for the accompaniment pattern in the music. The strings, when they do not have the melody, use pizzicato – plucking the strings with the fingers to play the notes on the beat. Molly on the Shore – About the Music The middle section Finally the violins, then flutes take a turn at the melody while the clarinets and bassoons keep the beat “hammering away”. The brass make their appearance with the trumpets playing a counter melody and horns, trombones and tuba joining in. The melody is continuing and then the Timpani (also called the Kettle Drums) appear…. Molly on the Shore – About the Music The middle section (cont.) The second violins introduce the second melody taken from the Irish melody Temple Hill. Again, it is unusual for the second violins to take the lead over the first violins. Glissando (gliss,.) slide from the 1st note to the 2 nd note Tied note – the sound is held for the required number of beats. Long notes played by the flutes, violas and cellos and dynamics marked pianissimo very soft, give this section a different feel. For how many beats are the tied notes held? Molly on the Shore – About the Music The middle section (cont.) The keyboard instruments, Glockenspeil, Celeste and Resonaphone (like a bass Glockenspeil) take over the steady beat. Glockenspeil Celeste Molly on the Shore – About the Music The Ending The instrumentation becomes thicker with all instruments playing. Just before the end, all instruments except for the strings stop playing. The strings play with mutes (con sord) and also double pianissimo ppp very, very soft and then decrescendo getting softer. Staccato (stacc.) short and detached Decresendo – gradually getting softer All instruments then play the last chord quadruple fortissimo ffff, very, very loud. Australian Curriculum – Music Molly on the Shore – Percy Grainger Elements of Music Foundation to Year 2 Rhythm Beat Crotchet, quaver Fast Presto Pitch Pitch direction Dynamics & Expression Years 3 and 4 Years 5 and 6 Years 7 and 8 Time signature Triplet chromaticism Quaver, semi-quaver Beat sub-divisions Melodic shape Treble clef Staff G major scale Bass clef Forte, piano (de) crescendo Fortissimo, pianissimo and gradations Accent Articulation Pizzicato Arco Form and Structure Introduction Same/different patterns Repeat sign 1st & 2nd time bars Theme, motif phrase Folk Song (Reel) Anacrusis Timbre How sound is made Recognise orchestral instruments by sound Viola Clarinet Recognise instrumental groups Texture Melody accompaniment Patterns 2 or more voices Contrast of texture Responding Alto clef Identify instruments by name and sound production. Orchestration beat and rhythmic patterns Creating Performing Years 9 and 10 Keep beat Rhythmic patterns Playing melody Australian composer Historical context Celtic music . Awareness of ensemble Prepared by Pam Lowry, Education Officer Queensland Symphony Orchestra