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Grainger's source for this lively piece was the Complete Petrie Collection of the

Ancient Music of Ireland, edited by composer Charles Villiers tanford! Grainger

cribbed two tunes, actually, both of them reels from County Cor"# $%emple &ill$ and

$Molly on the hore!$ Grainger's treatment "eeps the pianist's fingers flying,

although he employs such a wide variety of dynamics and coloristic effects that it

never seems li"e a cheap "nuc"lebuster! &e introduces the two tunes almostunharmoni(ed, then slaps them through a short series of lively variations, )olting

from one dynamic e*treme to the other and enveloping it all in e*tremely detailed

pedaling directions!

Molly on the Shore is a composition of Percy Aldridge Grainger . It is an arrangement of two

contrasting Irish reels, "Temple Hill" and "Molly on the Shore" that present the melodies in a

variety of tet!res and orchestrations, giving each section of the and long stretches of thematic

and co!ntermelodic material.#$%

"Molly on the Shore" was written in $&'( y Grainger as a irthday gift for his mother.

)riginally composed for string *!artet or string orchestra, this piece was arranged in $&+' for

wind and y the composer, as well as for orchestra.#$% rit- reisler  set it for violin and piano, !t

Grainger was thoro!ghly !nimpressed, saying that

#It% was a tho!sand times worse than I had fore/weened 00epected11, 2 I had not fore/weened

anything good.

In a letter to rederic3 ennell 0who wo!ld later go on to create the definitive f!ll score edition of

Grainger4s 5incolnshire Posy1, Grainger says that

"in setting Molly on the Shore, I strove to im!e the accompanying parts that made !p the

harmonic tet!re with a melodic character not too !nli3e that of the !nderlying reel t!ne. Melody

seems to me to provide m!sic with initiative, wheras 6sic7 rhythm appears to me to eert an

enslaving infl!ence. or that reason I have tried to avoid reg!lar rhythmic domination in my m!sic

/ always ecepting irreg!lar rhythms, s!ch as those of Gregorian 8hant, which seem to me to

ma3e for freedom. 9*!ally with melody, I pri-e discordant harmony, eca!se of the emotional and

compassionate sway it eerts".#$%

"Molly on the Shore" mostly feat!res the woodwind section of the and, especiallythe clarinets and saophones. The opening $st clarinet solo is a common a!dition ecerpt.

Percy Grainger (1882-1961) was a piano prodigy turned composer who was

known for his strange personal haits! his colorful prose! and his e"ually

unusual music # his many admirers today still recogni$e that he possessed

%the supreme &irtue of ne&er eing dull' orn in *ustralia! he egan

studying piano at an early age' +e came to the ,' ' at the outreak of .orld

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Aldridge_Graingerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reel_(dance)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reel_(dance)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temple_Hill_(song)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_quartethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_quartethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Kreislerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Kreislerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Fennellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Fennellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincolnshire_Posyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincolnshire_Posyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwind_instrumenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwind_instrumenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarinethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reel_(dance)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temple_Hill_(song)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_quartethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Kreislerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Fennellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincolnshire_Posyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_on_the_Shore#cite_note-LinerNotes-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwind_instrumenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarinethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Aldridge_Grainger

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.ar / and enlisted as an *rmy andsman! ecoming an *merican citi$en in

1918' +e went on to e0plore the frontiers of music with his idiosyncratic folk

song settings! his lifelong ad&ocacy for the sa0ophone! and his ree usic

machines which predated electronic synthesi$ers' +is many masterworks for

winds include 3incolnshire Posy! /rish 4une from 5ounty erry! 5hildren7s

arch and olly on the hore'

Grainger originally wrote olly on the hore in a 19 string setting as

irthday gift for his mother (who e0erted perhaps an undue in:uence on him

during her lifetime)' 4he wind and setting is ut one of many! and it

appeared in 192' 4wo "uotes aout this piece illustrate the uni"ueness of

Grainger7s approach to music;

/n setting olly on the hore / stro&e to imue the accompanying parts that

made up the harmonic te0ture with a melodic character not too unlike that of

the underlying reel tune' elody seems to me to pro&ide music with an

initiati&e! whereas rhythm appears to me to e0ert an ensla&ing in:uence' or

that reason / ha&e tried to a&oid rhythmic domination in my music < always

e0cepting irregular rhythms! such as those of Gregorian 5hant! which seem to

me to make for freedom' ="ually with melody / pri$e discordant harmony!

ecause of the emotional and compassionate sway it e0erts'

*nd;

>ne of the reasons why things of mine like olly on the hore and hepherd7s

+ey are good is ecause there is so little gaiety and fun in them' .hile other

composers would ha&e een ?olly in setting such dance tunes! / ha&e een

sad or furious' y dance settings are energetic rather than gay'

In setting Molly on the Shore I strove to im!e the accompanying parts that made !p the

harmonic tet!re with a melodic character not too !nli3e that of the !nderlying reel t!ne. Melody

seems to me to provide m!sic with initiative, whereas rhythm appears to me to eert an enslaving

infl!ence. or that reason I have tried to avoid reg!lar rhythmic domination in my m!sic // always

ecepting irreg!lar rhythms, s!ch as those of Gregorian chant, which seem to me to ma3e for

freedom. 9*!ally with melody, I pri-e discordant harmony, eca!se of the emotional and

compassionate sway it eerts.

Program Note by Percy Aldridge Grainger 

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Molly on the Shore receives fre*!ent performances from high school and !niversity ensemles,

and it is certainly appropriate for a variety of concert programs. Altho!gh melodically

straightforward, this ris3 reel will provide several technical challenges, especially for yo!nger

players. or a s!ccessf!l performances, st!dents m!st ehiit firm control over artic!lation and

finger techni*!e. ast tong!ing pervades the !pper woodwind parts, and performers sho!ldapproach the decorative triplet t!rns with care. Grainger4s characteristically intricate tapestry of

melodies and co!ntermelodies is thoro!ghly en:oyed y a!diences.

/ Notes from Great M!sic for ;ind finger/!sters? in the literat!re. It

remains one of his most pop!lar and ea!tif!lly conceived creations.

The version for >@ hands on fo!r marimas? was s!ggested in $&(@ y 9ldon an-en, Birector of

ear? as an orchestrator for and has seldom een e*!aled1F Grainger elieved that

his m!sic as

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