Percy Aldridge Grainger

Shepherd's Hey, Bfms 16: Study Score Percy Aldridge Grainger

Percy Grainger, much like his contemporary Bela Bartok, was intensely interested in folk music and became a member of the English Folk-Song Society soon after his arrival in London in the first decade of the 20th century. He produced numerous works based upon folk music from the British isles, with more than 45 items in his "British Folk-Music Settings" alone. As with many titles in the series, Shepherd's Hey exists in multiple arrangements - "dished-up" by the composer himself. The first version (BFMS 3), composed between 1908-11, was for an ensemble of 12 players. The present orchestral ("full band" in Grainger's parlace) setting was produced two years later and published as No.16. Grainger's 1913 score was a "compressed full score" which did not precisely notate each part in detail as a conventional full score does. The score offered here is a newly edited and engraved edition prepared by Richard W. Sargeant Jr. based upon both the original 1913 score and the actual orchestral parts issued at the same time. Those interested in Grainger's unique orchestrational palette can now see in it full detail.