Lord Maxwell's Goodnight - Set of Parts Concert Band - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1501664

SET OF PARTS. Score sold separately.

This orchestration is the end product of my book entitled "Orchestrational Archetypes in Percy Grainger's Wind Band Music." In an attempt to understand the enigmatic style of Grainger's wind band music, I made a detailed analysis of his recurring orchestrational practices with regard to melody, countermelody, part writing and contrapuntal dynamics. The conclusion is that the Grainger "sound" is a function of recurring orchestrational techniques, rather than other compositional elements such as melody or harmony. This information was then used to "dish up" selected Grainger voice and piano pieces in his own idiosyncratic style. I also arranged “British Waterside” and “The Cutting of The Hay” (G. Schrimer).

Lord Maxwell’s Goodnight is a reflective, moving piece based on a ballad about Lord Maxwell, who has killed a rival in a long-standing bloody family feud and is leaving for Scotland to avoid prosecution. He bids good-bye to his wife, his lands and his country. Lord Maxwell’s Goodnight appears as Grainger’s British Folk Music Setting No. 42 for high tenor voice or unison male chorus and 4 strings (violin, viola, 2 cellos) in 1904. The original is in the key of F major but has been shifted to Db major in this orchestration. The lyrics of the first verse are:

Adieu, madame, my mother dear,
But and my sisters three O!
Adieu, fair Robert of Orchardstane,
My heart is woe for thee, O!
Adieu, the lily and the rose,
The primrose fair to see, O!
Adieu, my ladye, and only joy,
For I may not stay with thee, O!.