Concert 1 2021: Legends and Folktales

This is our first concert since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We present for your enjoyment a lighter program while we settle back into playing music together after a break of 12 months.

The proposed program includes the following works.

Danish Bouquet by Ira Hearshen

Inspired by Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, Ira Hearshen collated the Danish folksongs Grainger collected and held in the Library of Congress in USA. This is Ira’s take on Grainger’s Danish “wildflowers”. The music is here before you, ready to come alive … with a tip of the hat to two of the greatest friends of wind band music – Percy Aldridge Grainger and Fr ederick Putnam Fennell – through masterful artistry of Ira Hearshen. Adapted from the score notes. There are five movements.

For a recording please consider this one of the 1st movement click here, 2nd movement click here and the last movement click here.

For more information about this work click here.

Irish Tune from County Derry and Shepherd’s Hey by Percy Grainger

These two works were originally published together. Irish Tune is a setting by Percy Grainger of a melody originally collected by Miss J. Ross of New Town, Limavady, Co Derry, Ireland. The version we will play was published in 1994 and edited by R. Mark Rogers.

For a recording of Irish Tune from County Derry consider this one click here.

Shepherd’s Hey is an English Morris Dance set by Percy Aldridge Grainger. The version we will play has been arranged Loras J. Schissel. Grainger made several different settings of Shepherd’s Hey, which is based on a folk tune collected by the British folk song expert Cecil Sharp. The band version was first published in 1918. The tune itself is a Morris dance, a centuries-old tradition of fluid, group dancing from England.  Still, Grainger insists on his 1913 piano solo score that “This setting is not suitable to dance Morris dances to.”  Ever the contrarian, Grainger also said that “where other composers would have been jolly setting such dance tunes I have been sad or furious. My dance settings are energetic rather than gay.” From Wind Band Literature by Andy Pease.  

For a recording of Shepherd’s Hey set by Percy Grainger click here.

English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams is a British Band Classicc composed in 1924. There are three movements.

For a recording of English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams with the President’s Own Marine Band conducted by Frederick Fennell: 1st movement click here, 2nd movement click here, 3rd movement click here.

For more information about this suite click here.

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The Jedi Steps and Finale from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams arr. Paul Lavender.

For a recording recommended by the publisher, this is a live recording by the Present’s Own Marine Band conducted by Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig click here.

For information about this publication click here.

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The Legend of Zelda music by Haim Saban & Shuki Levy ar. Michal Worek. The Legend of Zelda[a] is a high fantasy action-adventurevideo game franchise created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable instalments and re-releases have been outsourced to Capcom, Vanpool, and Grezzo. The gameplay incorporates action-adventure and elements of action RPG games. From the url link below.

For a recording (excerpts) from the publisher click here.

For more information about The Legend of Zelda click here.

To book tickets go to our FaceBook page click here.