Grainger (arr. Johnston) - Country Gardens for Clarinet Choir

Country Gardens is perhaps Percy Grainger’s most well-known work and at the least is the work which brought him the most fame as a concert pianist (in addition to a large amount of revenue through royalties). This version, based on a later orchestration of the work, came at a point in his life in which he was tired of the tune and features a number of purposeful “wrong” notes. Grainger once remarked: “The typical English country garden is not often used to grow flowers in; it is more likely to be a vegetable plot. So you can think of turnips as I play it.” Embrace these wrong notes, but also perhaps give the audience a little fair warning and some of the back story. Enjoy!

Instrumentation:

• E-Flat Clarinet
• 5 B-Flat Clarinets
• Alto Clarinet/Basset Horn/Clarinet 6
• Bass Clarinet
• Contrabass Clarinet/Contralto/String Bass