Children's March: Over the Hills and Far Away

"Children's March" redirects here. For the 1963 student protest in Birmingham, see Children's Crusade (1963).
Grainger, c. 1910s

Children's March: Over the Hills and Far Away was written by Percy Grainger as his first original work for band.[1]

It was originally written between 1916 and 1918 as a piano showpiece for World War I relief efforts.[2] However, after enlisting as a bandsman in the United States Army, he quickly orchestrated it for the 15th Coast Artillery Band stationed at Fort Hamilton. However, Grainger was discharged in January 1919 before he had a chance to play the piece with the band. The premiere of the piece occurred 6 June 1919 at Columbia University with the Goldman Band, Ralph Leopold on the piano, and Grainger conducting.[3] An arrangement by Grainger for two pianos was later published in 1920 after a performance by Leopold and Grainger for the Red Cross on 2 December 1919.[4]

The title is a reference to Over the Hills and Far Away by Frederick Delius, who was a close friend of Grainger.[5]

Versions

References

  1. ^ All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music. Chris Woodstra, Gerald Brennan, Allen Schrott. Backbeat Books. 2005. p. 522. ISBN 0-87930-865-6. OCLC 61295944.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ Sachs, Stephen; Sachs, Carolyn (1998). "Review of Children's March: Over the Hills and Far Away". American Music Teacher. 47 (4): 66–67. JSTOR 43545800.
  3. ^ Belser, Robert Steven (1994). Original Works For Concert Band Premiered Or Commissioned By Edwin Franko Goldman, Richard Franko Goldman, And The Goldman Band, 1919-1979 (DMA dissertation). University of Iowa. pp. 34, 105–106. OCLC 50615767. ProQuest 304096870.
  4. ^ "Ralph Leopold's Career an Interesting One". The Musical Courier. 79 (24): 42. 25 December 1919.
  5. ^ Palmer, Christopher (1971). "Delius and Percy Grainger". Music & Letters. 52 (4): 418–425. doi:10.1093/ml/LII.4.418. JSTOR 734716.